


Red Moon

by Artimas, Sororityprincess



Category: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Action, Alliances, Blood and Injury, Comedy, Drama, Earth, Evil Plans, F/M, Kdramas, Poor comedic timing, Thirsty Minako, Uptight Kunzite, Vampires, Zoisite being Zoisite, moon kingdom, shitshow
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-18
Updated: 2020-12-18
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:48:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 25,870
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28145619
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Artimas/pseuds/Artimas, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sororityprincess/pseuds/Sororityprincess
Summary: Across the galaxy, there has been a mysterious plague that has been stripping Royals and magical beings from their powers. The “red plague” has slowly been inching closer to the Moon and with tensions high the Moon and Earth decide to ban together to fight as a cohesive unit. To fight this plague, the Shitennou are sent to the Moon to provide assistance and to ensure the safety of the Lunars. Secret romances, evil lurking in the hallways, and an unlikely alliance follow as both courts try to decipher who is behind the universe slowly turning red.**Please note several liberties have been taken with the storyline and given this is an AU, it does not follow canon. This is also an aged up AU set in the Silver Millenium. *****Huge Shout out to my artist - Artimas Studios for putting together the images of this fic. THANK YOU!!!***
Relationships: Aino Minako/Kunzite, Prince Endymion/Princess Serenity
Comments: 24
Kudos: 8
Collections: Senshi & Shitennou Mini Bang 2020





	1. Prologue: Red has Fallen

“Your Majesty, Mars has fallen,” a panic-stricken voice sounded from the entry of the grand marble office. In it sat a tall slender woman with fair skin and bright silver eyes. Her silvery-white hair fell in gentle waves down to her ankles as she placed her hands on her white marble desk and pushed herself up. ‘Mars had fallen,’ she repeated inwardly as she stared intently at her most loyal confidante, Luna.

‘How could Mars have fallen?’ she thought to herself as she clasped her hands in front of her and distracted herself by walking around her desk. ‘They had been so careful, so thoughtful and so prepared,’ she thought to herself as she avoided wringing her hands together. In all of her years, as the Queen of the Silver Millennium, nothing so tragic as the Red Plague had happened. It was an unprecedented violent and intentional attack on magical beings and she couldn’t believe that with each passing day they kept on losing more and more ground. Soon, if she wasn’t careful or able to ascertain what was happening, the Moon would fall. At that thought, she couldn’t help but bite her bottom lip at the implications of what it would mean to have the Moon fall. 

Pacing further, she looked outside the bay window to her right and sighed softly. She was the most powerful entity in the Universe; yet, she couldn’t seem to stop the unfathomable evil that was spreading like wildfire. How could she protect her own and most importantly, how could she ensure her daughter stayed safe? She felt like everything was about to come crumbling down as it had with several other planets. They were obviously next and it frightened her beyond words. Words that she couldn’t utter as she had to be the face of “calm” in these uncertain times. 

“Your Majesty…” Luna’s voice pierced through her heavy thoughts. A reminder that she couldn’t hide in her own thoughts and reflect upon her deepest insecurities. “I know it’s a lot to take in your Majesty,” Luna noted as she stepped towards her Queen. “We’re gathering all of the data, and we’ll be running an analysis as to what happened.” 

Queen Serenity couldn’t help but nod with a small smile. “I know Luna,” she finally uttered. “I know we’ll run reports, and see how many victims fell this time, but we need more than stats and data. What we need are answers. Who is doing this? Or rather what is doing this? For months, we’ve had planets fall victim to the Red Plague. How can those with magical powers be losing their gifts… how? It doesn’t make any sense, and no matter how many times we’ve asked for guidance and answers from the Guardian of Time, we’ve been met with more questions…” 

“Pluto is trying to find the answers without disrupting our timelines, you know she is. The fact that she shared that she couldn’t see this coming and that all of these events are no longer predictable or fated to happen, is an issue in itself. None of the scriptures or paths point to a pandemic of this nature. It all seems rather targeted…” Luna finally admitted. 

“I know,” Queen Serenity agreed. “How did Mars fall?” she finally asked. She didn’t want to know the answer but she needed to understand what had happened, who had fallen, were there any survivors? She dreaded having to make another announcement to the planets advising them that the Lunar guards were unable to prevent another outbreak; an invisible attack they couldn’t control. 

Luna took a deep breath and nervously tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. “In the same manner as the other 5 planets beforehand. First, it was all guards who possessed magical powers, and then Royal family members with planetary powers were targeted and taken out.” 

“It was the same pattern as previous attacks…” Queen Serenity said mostly to herself and then looked towards Luna. “Has Sailor Mars been advised as to what happened?” 

Luna nodded, “We briefed her and she’s understandably quite upset, but most importantly, she’s angry. The other Sailor Senshi are trying to calm her down and prevent her from leaving the Moon, it’s just too dangerous…” 

“I can understand that she would be devastated and would want to leave to be with her family, but as with the others, there’s nothing we can do unless we find answers to reverse what has happened. We’re there any survivors this time?” Queen Serenity questioned.

Luna couldn’t bring herself to make eye contact and lowered her eyes. “Early reports would indicate that everyone who was stripped of their powers that were not part of the Royal family did not survive. Royal family members, as with Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto, survived but we are unable to wake them up. They seem to be frozen neither dead or alive, just frozen in time. All Royal family members were brought to their infirmaries and are under observation. They will be sent to the Moon once we have cleared that it’s safe to do so like we did with the other planets,” Luna noted, hating that this was the 6th time she was having to go through this report. 

“Also…” Luna continued slowly. She wasn’t quite sure how to approach the following statement but she had to make her Queen aware of the changing nature of the situation. “It appears to have been a better-executed attack than previous attacks… whoever or whatever is doing this, have learned from their past experiences and is not only becoming more swift but brazen as well.” 

“What do you mean by brazen?” the Queen questioned lifting a worried brow. 

Luna took a deep breath and braced herself for what she was about to say, or rather show. “Your Majesty, there was a message this time,” she said, opening the electronic tablet that was in her hands. “I think you need to see this…” she said turning on the tablet and handing it to Queen Serenity. “If you just click on…” 

Before Luna could finish her sentence, the Queen had already clicked on the little triangle. To her horror, it was a video of the Marsian Royal family perfectly placed in their Royal throne room sitting as though nothing was wrong, blank looks on their face, as if relics on display at a museum. To the Queen's disgust, it wasn’t their immobile bodies and blank looks, or even the traces of blood that sparingly littered the floor, that turned her worry to pure anger, it was the message that floated above their heads in bright red dripping letters, that made her own blood run cold: 

**“The Royal Moon Court is Next.”**

****

****


	2. Raging Red

Several weeks had passed since the attack on Mars and things had been eerily calm. No additional attacks or wrongdoings were noted and most importantly no abnormalities had occurred on any of the other planets. The only problem that remained was that all victims were still in a deep sleep that they could not wake from and it was proving harder than anyone anticipated to wake them up. It seemed that whatever had taken their powers also held onto their life forces which didn’t allow them the victims to wake up. Several scientists had suggested they would have to find the source in order to wake up the victims vs try to wake them up. In most instances their life crystals had been removed and that appeared to be the most problematic situation. 

The Moon Kingdom along with Earth had paired together to try and solve what was happening. While neither Kingdom were making a significant pathway to discovering how to revive the fallen, the Earthen Kingdom had decided to send a convoy composed of the Shitennou and Prince Endymion. A sign of good faith they were all working towards the same common goal and to bring some of the Earth scientists to the Moon for in-person collaboration. 

While most were excited about the arrival of the Earthen men, some were hesitant given the unrest in the Galaxy. There were even talks that Earth had potentially started this feud and their extension of help had merely been to placate the Moon Kingdom. Queen Serenity was completely opposed to the nay-sayers and trusted that the Royal Earthen Court would not betray their alliance or put the Galaxy in Peril. To others, this all a facade especially to the heartbroken Mars Princess who had just lost her parents to the latest attack. 

“I don’t trust them,” the Princess of Mars said, narrowing her eyes and peering at the Princess of Mercury. 

“Rei, you know why they’re coming. The Shitennou along with the Prince are bringing their best scientists to partner with ours. It only makes sense for them to partner in-person vs virtually,“ Ami noted as she looked pleadingly at her friend. She hated seeing her like this. Seeing her in a state where she could not accept simple truths and argued about every decision or action they were taking. 

“No, Ami. Why would they choose this particular moment to come to the Moon? They have never made unannounced visits in the past and why would they bring the Earthen Court with them? It doesn’t make sense…”

“I know you’re having a difficult time with what’s happening and with the fact they will be joining us, but we have to be hospitable. They will be guests in the Moon Kingdom and they have gone through their own hardships. Remember, Rei… they tried to stop the attacks, they’re our allies, we can’t just dismiss them,” Ami rebutted with a sympathetic look towards her friend. She understood that her friend had gone through hell and back, but the fact that Earth was an ally did remain. They were not to blame for these events.

“Maybe that’s what they want us to think, maybe it was their plan all along,” Rei persisted. “You never know. If there’s one thing this situation has shown us is that we cannot be certain about anything.”

“But we can’t doubt everyone,” another voice chimed in from the entrance of the large dining hall. A rather petite blonde with long silvery hair stepped forward in a billowing white gown that glided majestically with each step that she took. She was accompanied by two other Princesses, the Princess of Venus who adored a beautiful orange gown, and the Princess of Jupiter who donned a magnificent dark green dress. “You know they’re not to blame, Rei… they’re not nearly as magical as other planets are,” she said walking towards her friends. 

Rei made a face and squared her shoulders, ready to dispute and to give her Princess and friends a piece of her mind. Something just wasn’t right about everything that was happening. Yes, she was upset about her parents and her planet, but there was infinitely more to her worry. She had seen the evil in her fires and the destruction it could bring, yet, they were blatantly ignoring the warning signs and letting in strangers into their home. It just didn’t make sense. “Serenity, I’m not trying to be difficult or emotional about this situation. There is just something that is truly off about this whole situation and I don’t know why no one will listen to me.” 

“No one said we’re not listening,” Serenity noted as she finally made her way to the grand marble table and placed a gentle hand on her friend's shoulder. “I’m just simply stating that Prince Endymion and his Shitennou are not to be feared. While they possess magical powers that are inferior to ours, Earth has never shown any interest to overthrow the entire galaxy. Furthermore, their own people have died fighting to protect our freedom and the magical beings that live across our galaxy. Truthfully, we shouldn’t be doubting them but instead praising them for their sacrifice for everyone.” 

“...I know…” Rei reluctantly said and thought carefully before she said her next words. “It’s just that I think something is going to happen and I’m feeling uneasy. The fires have spoken and showed that great unrest will be met with their arrival. What’s the reason for that? What are they bringing in that could be a potential danger for our Kingdom? You’ve seen what’s happened with the other planets. If the Moon Kingdom falls, or if…” she held her tongue momentarily and then pushed forward, “or if you or your mother are compromised, the galaxy becomes at risk of losing to this evil. We don’t even understand what we’re being met with,” she said pausing and readjusting her tone. “It can take away any of our powers including _your own_. What happens if they take away the crystal Serenity? What happens then?” she questioned. 

“It won’t happen Rei,” Minako said stepping forward and throwing a loose arm around Serenity. “She’s got us and seeing that you’re so uptight I’m sure that we can manage to stay ahead of this evil and keep her and the Kingdom safe. Don’t ya think?” she said, giving her a somewhat pleading look. She could feel the emotions in the room rising, and the last thing she wanted was for Serenity to be more concerned than she already was. The poor girl already had the galaxy laying on her shoulders along with the countless briefs she was getting that her survival was more important than anything else. For such a special and sensitive soul, it was a lot for one person to take in, especially given that it was Serenity’s heart they were dealing with. Truth be told, she would be the first to sacrifice herself if it meant that she was able to save others. Having Rei guilt trip her into thinking that she was not taking this situation seriously was not going to help any of them. 

“I’m sure _we can_ but I just don’t want us to be blindsided by them and think they’re not somehow part of this. We should only trust each other, ok?” Rei finally conceded. There was no point continuing this conversation if it meant that everyone was going to think that she was crazy. “I do want to highlight one thing though… We have to be careful and on our guard. I know I already shared that I saw a set of piercing silver eyes through the fire but you all need to understand how menacing they were. So if one of those Shittenou or anyone else that arrives with the Earthen convoy so much as has silver eyes, I’m locking them up. Ok?” 

“Deal,” Minako said, extending her hand towards Rei to shake. “I’ll be the first person to lock them up myself and make them regret ever setting foot on our beautiful Moon.” 

“I don’t think it’ll be necessary at all,” Serenity said softly. “I’m certain these Shitennou and the Prince are fine…” 

“ _Fine,_ they sure are!” Minako said with a playful wink towards Serenity, causing her to turn a deep shade of pink. “Don’t pretend you haven’t noticed that they are extremely good looking Sere, you know they are,” she said with an almost knowing smile.   
  


“I was looking them up online,” Makoto noted with a lustful sigh, “And I have to agree with Mina… they’re beyond good looking. I mean, if they really are the folks behind all of this, maybe death by hotness is not such a bad thing!” 

“MAKOTO!” Ami said incredulously. “Don’t say things like that.” 

Makoto shrugged and let out a chuckle. “What?” she said faking that she was hurt and put a hand on her chest. “Have you seen them?” she said with a smirk as she looked over to the others for support. 

Minako played into the joke. “Oh you know I like them hotties. Who doesn’t like a little hot ass action on the side,” she said with a laugh. 

Rei glared at them and shook her head. “I can’t believe that you’ve turned this into a fun little game. People are getting their powers stripped and they’re in magical comas but you’re still able to joke around about getting some hot ass? Don’t you think you should be a little more sensitive to…” 

**“The Royal Earthen Court has arrived and formal introductions are to be made Princesses. Please all proceed to the Royal Throne room,”** a familiar voice echoed in the dining hall where the women stood. 

Serenity immediately perked up and jumped from the seat she had taken during their debate. “Ok ladies, let’s just put our differences aside for now and we can pick up later tonight. And Rei,” she said turning to her dear friend. “I hope you know that Mako and Mina are not trying to make light of the situation. It’s just… it’s really heavy and we know what you’re going through… but a little laugh here and there is ok too. I’m not taking away from the situation you find yourself in, it’s not easy, but we can’t just be on high alert 24/7. That being said, I promise we’ll ensure that we’re super careful and if ever there’s any sign of danger… you ladies get to suit up and kick some ass, ok?”

Rei nodded solemnly. She knew what was to come and she couldn’t help but project her feelings about the situation. If anything was clear was that they were all in grave danger, whether from the Earthen Court or from the evil that had promised to rear its ugly head. “Ok, Sere, let’s just be super careful,” she conceded as the others gathered around their Princess. This was a fight that she wouldn’t win with those cerulean eyes staring back at her. She just needed to let them think she dropped the subject and she would continue to stay on high alert. 

“Good, now let’s go see the hotties!” Mina said skipping ahead of the pack and turned around with a wink as she heard Ami and Rei groan. “Oh come on, maybe you’ll find them equally entertaining!” 

“I highly doubt it,” Rei said with an eye roll and followed the others as they walked through the long marble hallways of the castle. They turned a corner where they were met with another long hallway adorned with white marble statues of the past leaders of the Moon Kingdom. As they walked through the hallway Rei couldn’t help the ominous feeling that was overcoming her. She didn’t know why she was so concerned about today. After all, she knew what the others were saying was true: the Earthen Court was not a threat. They had never shown themselves to be one. They had never even shown an interest in overpowering any planet. Yet, she still felt uneasy. She passed a large window and saw the darkened sky littered with stars and hoped that everything would be ok. 

“Moon to Rei,” Minako said waving a hand in front of her face. “Are you ready for us to go in or are you still busy brooding,” she said wrapping an arm around her. “I know you’re worried but I have it on good authority that the Shitennou and Prince Endymion would NEVER do anything to harm us or our Princess. Just trust me, ok?” 

Rei looked at her friend and saw the light dancing in her eyes. She felt like there was something to explore but didn’t have the chance or time to ask more questions before the grand doors were opened before them and they were all ushered in. 

Queen Serenity stood at the far end next to her throne and was joined by Luna, Artemis, and the Outer Senshi. To her left stood 4 men adorning grey Royal Earthen suits with hints of colour that matched them perfectly and then clearly the Prince standing in front of them, tall and regal, wearing a dark navy suit with hints of silver. ‘Ok… they’re good looking,’ she conceded as she gave them another look over (for security) and not to review how perfect they looked standing next to the pure white marble. 

She fell in line with the other Princesses as they walked gracefully to the throne where all of them stood. Princess Serenity and Minako exchanged brief glances with each other, which did not go unnoticed by Rei. She briefly thought to herself what was going on with them. There was almost a knowing smirk between the two but she inwardly shook her head. Maybe she was just seeing things. She had been under a lot of stress so perhaps her mind was just playing tricks on her. She refocused her efforts on the scene unfolding before her and decided that she would just keep an eye on the two. Knowing them, they probably had some elaborate plan to fall over these Earthen men. It was such a typical thing for them to do and she couldn’t help but sigh at the thought that she would need to “watch out” for not only the real danger but the fact those two would fall all over these men. Sure, they were good looking, she wasn’t blind but now was not the time or ever really. Unions between Earth and any other planet were forbidden. Her thoughts were eventually interrupted when Queen Serenity began speaking. 

“Thank you, ladies, for coming to the Throne Room so quickly,” the Queen stated with her hands clasped in front of her. “As you all know,” she said addressing everyone in the room, “We’re faced with a unique situation where the entire galaxy appears to be under attack. For you, young gentlemen, to have come to us, we truly appreciate it. Our planets are better off unifying and dealing with this hostility together.” 

Endymion who had remained silent nodded in agreement with the Queen. “Your majesty, we’re happy to have come to aid you but we fear that we aren’t nearly as powerful as your team of Senshi,” he said, bowing out of respect. “But we couldn’t stay away especially with the message my father told us. Are you certain that the Moon Kingdom is going to be targeted next?” he said glancing between the Queen and Luna and stealing a quick glance at Serenity. 

The Queen nodded solemnly in agreement. “The message was quite clear and I fear that we’re all in danger. We’re just hoping that by increasing our defenses and knowing that an attack is imminent that we will be better prepared to fight off this evil. Besides, having your scientist working with ours will allow for the best resolution,” she said pausing. “Having you here and uniting forces will be the last defense for the galaxy. If the Moon Kingdom falls, it leaves the remaining planets vulnerable and it would signify that myself or worse that…” She paused trying to get the words out and looked to her daughter. Her beautiful daughter, who was innocent and didn’t yet know the dangers of the world, how would she be able to defend herself against this evil? She had never had the heart to tell her daughter they were next and that they were in so much danger. The Queen tried to regain her composure as her slight pause grew in seconds and she tried to straighten out her thoughts. “We just can’t fail,” she added solemnly. 

“We won’t let that happen,” Endymion noted vehemently. “We will try everything in our power to maintain the balance of the galaxy and to eradicate this evil. My Father has been using all of his contacts to find out who’s behind this and what’s been happening. We’ve been able to determine…” 

“Wait a minute,” a hand went up from one of the Princesses. “How come I feel like I’m in the dark and that we haven’t been briefly nearly as much as the Earthen Court? With all due respect, Queen Serenity, all we were told was that the planets have been falling, that there is an unknown danger, and that we should be on our guard. Never were we briefed or told that we were “next” or that we were specifically targeted. I find it slightly unjust to be finding out about this right now,” Minako finally blurted out in one fell swoop. 

“Now’s not the time Minako,” Ami attempted to intervene. “Not when our prestigious guests are in front of us. We can chat about this later,” she tried to reason. 

Minako was taken aback at her friend's response. “Are you telling me you’re not slightly concerned that you didn’t know about the extent of this situation?” she asked incredulously as she placed her hands on her hips. “You out of all people must be standing here wondering why you don’t have all the information.” 

Ami shifted uncomfortably and exchanged a glance with Queen Serenity requesting assistance. Upon making eye contact the Queen nodded solemnly, “Minako, Ami was aware of the details of what’s to come,” she stated simply with an apologetic look. She knew things were about to take a turn for the worse when she saw betrayal flash across Minako’s eyes. 

“But I’m the leader,” she replied flatly. “How could you not tell me all of the details? You told me that you didn’t have them all and that you had your best analysts working on finding the answers. What more do you know that you didn’t tell me?” 

“Mina let’s just talk about this later, ok?” Ami attempted again as she placed a hand on her friend's shoulder. “I’ll fill you in on everything when we’re not standing here, ok?” 

“Yeah, Mina, it’s ok we’ll tell you all about it, ok?” Makoto also echoed.

At that, it was not Minako but Serenity who replied. “You all knew,” she said rather calmly. “You ALL knew the details of what’s happening but you chose not to tell Minako or…. Me?” she said tears filling in her eyes. She hated being emotional but she felt like she was under attack even if she wasn’t. It was clear by everyone’s body language that they all knew. There had been no shock, no outrage, no gasps when her mother announced they were next. They all knew. How couldn’t she know? And worse, how could Minako have no idea? It didn’t make sense. Why keep them in the dark? 

“Serenity,” the Queen began. 

“Don’t _Serenity_ me mother. You kept something crucial away from me. I’m your successor! How could you not trust me in the most crucial attack the Galaxy has ever been witness to? I thought you trusted me. How am I supposed to follow in your footsteps when you won’t even give me a chance to prove myself?” she said, raising her voice. 

“I just didn’t want you to worry,” the Queen said with a resolute sigh. 

“You didn’t want me to worry? Well, too late! I was already worried when I heard that all of the planets were falling to some evil we don’t even know. Or wait, do you even know who’s behind the attacks? Nothing would surprise me at this point. I can’t believe you didn’t trust me… or Minako. For that matter, why didn’t you tell her as the leader of the Senshi?”

“I just didn’t want you to worry… if I told her I feared you would find out.” 

Serenity was taken aback at the statement. It’s intent and meaning so clear. “Wow,” she said slowly. “That one sentence says an enormous amount… Were you too scared she would spill the beans to me, right? So you had to keep the one person who’s closest to me in the dark. The one person that can protect me the most but you chose not to arm her with all the information. That’s just great,” she said nodding more to herself. “Well, this little Princess over here,” she said pointing to herself, “assumes she doesn’t need to be here for the adult conversations as those adults have all determined she’s too fragile to handle the truth. So, on that note, I will take my leave. It’s very nice to have seen you all and I will join you all tomorrow or when you all deem it necessary to include me in crucial galactic news,” she said bowing and turning her back to everyone as she walked towards the large throne doors. 

“...This is better than those dramatic K-Drama’s,” Zoisite whispered to Nephrite and let out an inaudible chuckle. Nephrite immediately checked him in the ribs with his elbow, “Be quiet Zoisite this is serious,” he said trying to maintain a stern nondescript face. The last thing they needed was for the Earthen Court to get swept up in the debate or worse for Serenity to start verbally attacking them. 

“Serenity, please don’t leave,” the Queen pleaded but her daughter was already opening the large doors and left without another word. She turned to Minako with an apologetic look, “Minako, I didn’t mean to insinuate we didn’t trust you both….” 

“It’s fine,” Minako said holding up her hand. “I’ll go after her and make sure she’s ok,” she said, containing her anger. If she was honest with herself; she was livid. If she wasn’t a Princess and her Queen wasn’t before her she would have screamed at all of them and told them they were beyond wrong for doubting them. She couldn’t believe that they thought so little of her and assumed she would have told Serenity, EVEN, if she would have. You just don’t keep that type of information hidden when the entire Galaxy is at risk. The more individuals who understand the threat - the better, no? She hated that they had assumed that Serenity was fragile and incapable of handling the truth. If only they knew how strong she was. Minako had seen it first hand. No one knew how strong Serenity was and how much she could actually handle. All they always saw was a bubbly, go-lucky Princess and not the fierce leader that Minako knew she could be. Masking her true feelings and her inner turmoil she managed to speak to the group, “It was a pleasure seeing you all tonight,” she said with a low bow. “I’ll be on my way.” 

As she turned to walk away, she heard Endymion question the Queen as to why she chose to keep them in the dark and actually told her she was wrong. She could hear the other Shitennou intervening as the conversation became heated and she shook her head as she let the large doors close behind her. ‘What a mess…’ she thought to herself as she grabbed bunches of her beautiful orange gown that fell around her and started running down the hallway. With her shoes tapping against the polished marble she turned a corner and found Serenity stalking down the hallway in an apparent rant to herself. 

“Sere, wait up!” Minako shouted as the Princess came to a halt and turned around to face her best friend as she ran up to her. “By the gods, you got away quickly!” she said, taking in a deep breath. 

“HA, HA,” Serenity said sarcastically. “Can you ACTUALLY believe that she thought I wasn’t mature enough to handle this information? And that YOU would tell me by default?!? How could she let us think that we were not in more danger than she was letting on? In all honesty, what would have happened if there was an attack and we would have been caught off guard? What would have happened then, huh?” 

“Oh gods, I know Serenity. I’m absolutely horrified and mostly mortified that she didn’t trust me enough to tell me GALACTIC SECRETS,” she said, raising her voice. “Yes, I would have told you what was going on but I’m sorry, isn’t that the right thing to do? Like, honestly, Is it not? Aren’t we all supposed to help each other? Last time I checked, you were pretty darn powerful and quite capable to protect yourself. You don’t need to be in the dark... UGH! It’s SO annoying to think that she was ok to just disregard our trust and our safety. SO. ANNOYING.” 

“I know… I can’t help but feel stupid about all of this and dear gods, in front of the Earthen Court too,” she said letting her head fall into her hands. “I’m so embarrassed. SO embarrassed…” 

“Well, don’t be too embarrassed,” Minako said wrapping an arm around Serenity. “When I left Endymion seemed to be giving your mom quite a sermon on how wreckless her decision was. I also heard Kunzite intervene to try and calm him down. It was all a tad entertaining,” she said with a smirk. “Like, movie entertaining. Even your exit and mine was movie-worthy!” 

“Oh gods, that’s even worse. He can’t just go and defend me like that…” 

“It was pretty cute though. I kind of wish I stayed longer to listen to the whole discourse but I figured it would be best to leave and find you. After all, you can’t take care of yourself, right?” 

Serenity shrugged Minako’s arm off her shoulder and gave her a gentle push. “HEY, you’re supposed to be on my side. You’re also a liability, don’t you know?” she said with a laugh. 

“Oh, believe me, they made it abundantly clear today,” she said sighing deeply. “Abundantly clear,” she repeated as the two girls let the reality of the evening’s event roll over them and they stayed silent for a few seconds, both lost in their respective thoughts until Minako spoke again. “Anyways, how about we head to the rendezvous point and take up the conversation there?” she said, raising a knowing eyebrow and put her arm back around Serenity’s shoulders. 

“Yeah, that sounds good. At least we had a good excuse to slip away and people won’t be looking for us.”

“True, that’s one good thing about the turn of events,” Minako said with a reassuring smile. “Now, let’s go,” she said leading her down the hall. 

Unsuspecting to both of them a third participant had been lurking in the hallway listening to their conversation watching their every move. 

“Seek your peace for now my darlings. The fun is just about to get started.” 


	3. Red Hearts

Serenity sat on a plush white leather couch next to a large ceiling to floor window. The gentle stars and Earth illuminated the seating area where she sat. Behind her large stacks of books and shelves went on for what seemed to be rows upon rows. She laid her head against the back of the couch and let her eyes close. Both her and Minako had been waiting in the Grand Library for what seemed to be eons. Minako had excused herself to use the washroom and Serenity had stayed behind. She let the natural light play across her face as she softly hummed one of her favourite songs. She loved being in the library, not to read, but to collect her thoughts. It had always been a safe haven for her. It was somewhere she could go where no one would think of finding her. After all, why would the Princess want to be surrounded by books? Truthfully, she liked the stillness of the books and the quiet that came from being in the largely underutilized room. 

She took in a deep breath and slowly exhaled as she found her inner peace from the evening’s events. While she was still quite angry about her mother’s actions, she had now come to understand why she chose to keep her in the dark and why she wanted to protect her for as long as possible. Truth be told, Serenity was a worrier, and worse, everyone knew she would do anything to protect those she loved even if it meant sacrificing herself. It was a tad problematic when she was the one who needed to stay alive in dire situations. Not that any of those situations had come to fruition but in any exercises they had done, she always sacrificed herself. As a result, she understood why her mother made the decision she made. She could technically be labeled a liability.

Serenity heard the door of the library opening and paid little attention to the door closing softly as she assumed it was Minako. She listened to the soft footsteps coming closer to her and continued humming to herself with her eyes closed. “What took you so long Minako?” she asked as the footsteps came to a halt in front of her. When she received no response, she went to open her eyes but before she could she felt two hands cup her face, and a warm breath tickles her lips before those lips crashed into hers. Her eyes flew open at the gesture but instead of being alarmed, she leaned into the gesture and wrapped her arms around the offender deepening the kiss. 

“Ahem,” someone said, clearing their throat after what seemed to be several minutes. “I think that’s quite enough for one night ESPECIALLY in a public area,” the stern voice noted as he leaned forward and gently tugged on the offender's shoulder. The pair of love-kissed Royals broke apart. 

“You’re such a buzzkill Kunzite,” Endymion finally said after a few more moments of looking at Serenity and stroking her cheek. “I missed you Sere,” he said with a smile and gave her another peck as he sat down beside her. 

“So did I, Endy,” she said putting a hand to his face. “I missed you so much.” 

“Oh god, are the two lovebirds being all cuddly and shit again?” Minako said as she reappeared into the Grand Library. “ I swear Kun-Kun we just need to get them a room and let them have some fun!” she said coming up to him and smacking him on the butt. 

“Minako, stop calling me Kun-Kun and smacking me,” he said looking offended. 

“You’ll warm up to me one-day Kun-Kun,” she said with a wink as she sat on the opposing couch. “No one can avoid the Princess of luuvvvv,” she said, teasing him and blowing him a kiss. 

Kunzite pretended to catch the kiss and immediately regretted it and threw it away. “Oh gods,” he said facepalming himself. 

“See, you’re already loosening up,” Minako said with a laugh as she pretended to pick up his discarded kiss. “I’ll keep this for later!” 

“Just give it to someone else, please. I told you I don’t have time for these shenanigans. It’s already difficult enough that I have to deal with a fleeing Prince all the time,” he said motioning to Endymion who was now sitting with Serenity leaning on his chest as he held her tightly. “All of this is a disaster waiting to happen…” 

“That’s what you say every single time,” Minako replied. “And every single time, EVERYTHING is OK! To think this has been going on for over a year now and they haven’t been caught yet. I would call that a pretty good record, don’t you think?” 

“Well, every record is meant to be broken, Minako,” Kunzite replied matter of factly. 

“Gods, you’re such a snore sometimes Kun-Kun but you’re still hot and a decent human, so you’re still on my radar,” she said with another wink. “But all flirting aside and to be serious for 5 minutes, how much do you two know about what’s going on?” she asked seriously. “If you know anything can you please tell us because at this point I have no clue what we’re supposed to know!” 

“I still find it bizarre that you were both kept in the dark,” Endymion noted as he took Serenity’s hand and played with it. “In my opinion, it’s more of a danger to have you both in the dark, no?”

“I would tend to agree,” Kunzite stated. “Also, Endymion you made it abundantly clear to everyone that you didn’t agree with the Queen. Any more clear and I thought you would have jumped her…” 

“I saw red and couldn’t help myself, Kunzite. To not tell her that she’s in danger is reckless!” 

“I agree but your reaction was that of a lovesick fool who was defending the honour of his betrothed. That is NOT your relationship with Serenity to the outside world. I fear that someone might have picked up on your ardent reaction especially the Queen herself.”   
  


“What happened?” Serenity asked looking up at Kunzite. 

“Loverboy has got your back,” Minako chimed in with a grin. “I only heard half of it but he basically told your mother that it was absurd that she wouldn’t have told you to protect you and that if he ever found out that you’ve been betrayed like that again there will be consequences.”

Kunzite cringed at the explanation and pinched the bridge of his nose. “In not so many words, that’s exactly what he said. He became momentarily blinded but we were able to deescalate the situation rather quickly.” 

“How?” Serenity asked, genuinely concerned. If there was one thing about her mother, she wasn’t stupid. She would have seen through the act and she would have questioned Endymion mercilessly. 

“There was a scene that interrupted his rant…” Kunzite said with a sigh. 

“What scene?” Minako asked, putting her two elbows on her knees and leaning her head onto her clasped hands. 

“I don’t want to explain it but essentially what happened was…” 

***

_“Oh dear gods this is getting out of hands,” Nephrite whispered to Zoisite. “He’s going to let the cat out of the bag if he continues to talk and defend Serenity’s honour. We can literally see the surprise and curiosity expanding on everyone’s face”_

_“So is that my cue?” Zoisite asked with a raised eyebrow._

_“What cue? I didn’t give you a cue. I’m saying we need to stop this.”_

_“So, that IS my cue,” Zoisite whispered back. “Every K-drama needs a character like me,” he said nodding to himself._

_“You’re not in a K-drama… you HAVE to stop watching them. Dear gods, what are you doing?” Nephrite asked as Zoisite fell to the ground “unconscious.”_

_At the small_ **_thud_ ** _in the background, everyone turned towards the sound and saw Nephrite’s dumbfounded face. “Uh…” he said looking at everyone before he regained his composure, “...he said he wasn’t feeling well before he... uh... fainted?”_

***

“And with that,” Kunzite said, shaking his head, “we were able to end Endymion’s rant and excuse ourselves to bring Zoisite back to his room. Nephrite and Jadeite remained in the throne room discussing logistics along with the rest of the Lunar Court.” 

Serenity and Minako burst into a fit of giggles. “He’s so funny Zoisite,” Serenity said with another giggle. “He’s the only one who would think about fainting to save Endymion. He could have just faked an important call but no he threw himself to the ground. He’s so funny!” 

“I’m glad you can find some humour in this situation, Serenity,” Kunzite said, shaking his head once more. “There’s honestly nothing humorous in all of this. I’m certain the Queen understood the motivation behind Endymion’s rant. To have to explain this to his Father… dear gods it’ll be a matter of national security,” he said pinching the bridge of his nose once more. 

“Kunzite, you speak as though there’s a problem with me dating Serenity. Yes, it’s a secret but we agreed it was because the timing was off. Both the Moon and Earth have no issues with each other. Frankly, a union between both would be beneficial for both Kingdoms.” 

“I agree with you Endymion but there are many other factors that have to be taken into consideration, notably political alliances and promises previously made. It’ll be a mess no matter what... but that is not the reason for us being here. That’s simply another complication to our complicated lives. I believe both Minako and Serenity would like to know about the information we do know,” he said steering the conversation away from their relationship and to the more pressing matter of the unknown evil. 

“Yes, we would very much like to know what’s going on,” Minako said. “I’m still salty about being in the dark but I know you’ll fill us in Kun-Kun.” 

Kunzite cringed once again at the nickname and decided that his best course of action was to ignore it altogether. “Very well. I’ll fill you in on what we have been briefed and then you can let us know what you did and did not know. From our understanding, we know that most of the planets have fallen to an “evil” that is going from royal family to royal family to steal their powers. All of the royals have lost their powers or crystals that live within them. The royals are neither dead or alive but in a sleepless state where no one can wake them up. For individuals that are not part of the royal family or who do not possess impressive powers, everyone has died. What’s interesting is that whoever is doing these attacks are harvesting the powers by a singular bite to their necks by drawing both blood and absorbing their powers. At first, no one made the link but it seems that whoever is behind this is purposefully “drinking” royal bloods and pulling out their crystals through some sort of ritual. Everyone has been found in the same line up and with the same wounds.” 

“So, what you’re saying is that there’s some kind of hybrid power stealing vampire on the loose?” Minako said, trying to wrap her mind around the facts before her. 

“Essentially, yes. It seems unreal to think that vampires exist but that seems to be what’s happening. Something straight out of a horror movie,” Kunzite acknowledged. 

“How do we know it's not a machine or a contraption that’s drawing the blood?” Serenity asked sitting up. 

“We have footage of the perpetrator doing the action…” Kunzite said reluctantly. “It was captured on Mars.” 

Both Minako and Serenity were taken aback. There was footage and no one had ever told them? They hadn’t even heard that a vampire type existed. This all sounded like it was coming straight out of a horror show.

“Do you have the footage?” Minako asked quickly and extended her hand. “I know you do… I want to see it.” 

Kunzite glanced over at Endymion for approval and Endymion nodded. “Show them, they should have been made aware of this before today. It still makes no sense to me…” 

“I know it doesn’t,” Kunzite agreed and took out his cellphone and brought up the video. He handed it to Minako and warned her that it was quite graphic. 

“That’s fine. I just want to know what’s happening,” Minako stated as she moved over on the couch to allow Serenity to sit beside her. With a deep breath, Minako pressed the play button, and the video before them played. What she didn’t expect was that the video would project in 3D in front of them. They both watched carefully as the massacre of Mars lay before them. 

In the corner, they could see that the Queen entered the throne room and fell to her knees as she saw the carnage. She quickly picked herself up and enacted her Senshi form, ready to attack. Once a Senshi, always a Senshi. She stood on guard as she called the great fires in front of her to show her what happened. She watched the reenactment in the flames as several figures entered into the room seemingly unarmed but fast. One man stood out to her with his silver slicked back hair and piercing blue eyes that connected through to her through the fire. He was licking his lips after having bit into the King and wiped his sleeve as slow trickles of blood dripped down his chin. He smirked as he wiped once again and licked his fingers. His full lips turned into a smile as he looked to the other men with him ordering them to place the bodies in a very specific diamonded pattern with the King at his throne. He then closed his eyes in front of the King, taking a deep breath, and reached into the King’s chest to find his life crystal and quickly absorbed the crystal into himself. A red glow illuminated his body as the power was slowly absorbed into himself. The Queen gasped at the horror before her and dismissed the great fires. As she did, in its place stood the offending man with a smirk defined by arrogance. 

_“You’re next, my dear,”_ he said with a sweet unrecognizable accent as he mercilessly attacked her. She didn’t even have enough time to conjure one power before his teeth were sinking into her neck, drawing blood and sucking the power out of her. She fell to the ground as her fuku disappeared and her dark red dress reappeared and he laughed. “They’re all too easy,” he said with a chuckle and grabbed her by the hair dragging her to her throne next to her husband. He threw her into the seat next to him as if throwing a rag doll. “Sleep tight my sweet and thank you for your sacrifice,” he said with one last smile as his hand dove into her chest and he pulled out her life crystal. He also absorbed this crystal into his body and proceeded to paint the walls with his message: 

**“The Royal Moon Court is Next.”**

Just when Serenity and Minako thought the video was finished as the culprit left the room. They were both shocked (and jumped) when he found himself in front of the camera staring back at both of them with a smirk plastered across his entire face. 

“ _Serenity, I look forward to our meeting the most.”_

And with that, the video ended frozen on the culprit's face. Before Serenity and Minako could react to the video, the power went out in the entire castle leaving everyone cast in darkness except for the maniacal smile frozen in time staring and taunting them all at once. 


	4. Red Flags

The power went out which made Serenity shriek at the sudden darkness. She was already petrified from the video and the chilling parting words the evil man spoke to her but worse she was frightened beyond words. She tried to fight back the tears but rogue droplets fell down her cheeks as she replayed the violence he had carelessly displayed and she worried for their safety. Worse was the realization that she knew this man.  **_She knew him_ ** _ , _ she had spoken to him, and she knew that not only was he in the castle but that they were all in grave danger. 

Endymion wrapped his arms around Serenity. “I know the video was shocking but it’s just a small power outage, I’m sure it’s ok,” he said, tightening his hold on her and looking at Kunzite and Minako. 

“We’ve never lost power,” Minako said, jumping to her feet. “We have an endless supply of energy - we can  _ never lose it _ ,” she said looking to the three of them. “This is not normal,” she said panic rising in her veins. “There’s something so off about all of this,” she said scanning the still library. She grabbed Kunzite’s cell phone and shut off the video - they didn’t need to see the creepy smile floating above them and most importantly she wanted his flashlight on. She activated it immediately and scanned the room to make sure they were ok. 

“...I know him…” came the small voice from Serenity. 

Both Minako and Kunzite froze while looking at Serenity. Endymion didn’t miss a beat and turned to her quickly placing both of his hands on her shoulders and looked down at her. “What do you mean you know him? How do you know him? We’ve all tried running facial recognition programs on him and we can’t find him. No one knows him. How do you? Where have you seen him, Sere?” he asked urgently as the slew of questions flowed out of him. 

“Oh my god,” Serenity said, letting her head drop into her hands. “I’ve seen him, I’ve spoken to him at the castle. He’s HERE,” she said lifting her head back up. “I don’t know how he broke into the castle and how he went undetected from everyone but I spoke to him  _ this morning _ ,” she said disgusted with herself that she had been incapable to distinguish that he was evil or that the Silver Crystal didn’t react to his power. It should have but it didn’t. There were absolutely no warning signs whatsoever which disgusted her even more. It must have been how no one ever saw him coming. 

“Sere, talk to me…” Endymion said putting his hand on her cheek. “How did you talk to him? What do you mean you saw him this morning? Do you mean on video? Not in the physical castle?”

“No, I saw him this morning. He was in my chambers… He told me he was the new Royal assistant for my quarters and he was making my bed when I spoke to him. He seemed nice… he seemed sweet,” she said in disbelief. “He told me that it was a dream come true to finally meet me in person and that he couldn’t wait to serve me well,” she said with a shudder. Now that she thought about it, he had come off strong but he was so sweet and no alarm bells had rung in her head. Nothing to tip her off that something was wrong. 

“For fucks sake, he was in her chambers,” Endymion said angrily looking at Kunzite. “This is why she should have been shown this fucking video beforehand! If she would have seen the video, she would have known that this freak was here and she could have raised an alarm. We would have had a leg upon him. But now we’re at his mercy for whatever he deems fit.”

“Endymion, I entirely agree with you but at this point, I don’t know what to tell you. Yes, the Queen made an error but I’m surprised that she herself couldn’t tell that this evil was here. How could she not feel it??” 

Serenity let out a flat laugh. “Easy. I couldn’t tell either,” she said disgusted with her realization. “We wouldn’t be able to tell that he’s evil because the power of good flows through his veins. He’s taken all of the powers from our allies and they’re all indirectly connected to the Silver Crystal. He registers as completely safe because the Silver Crystal registers his energy as good energy. It’s so sneaky that it’s almost commendable but I’m so disgusted,” she said wrapping her arms around herself and standing up. 

Endymion stood at the same time and tried to place a hand on her arm. “No,” she said stepping sideways. “I just need to figure this one out… I’m so freaked out,” she admitted. “He could have killed me this morning and I wouldn’t have even known what hit me,” she continued. “He seemed so trustworthy…” 

“Hey Sere,” Minako interjected. “He’s literally the definition and embodiment of evil. Anyone could have fallen for his tricks and just for the record, if you, who’s purely good, didn’t feel that he was evil, we’re all doomed ok? No one and I repeat, NO ONE, would have been able to detect him, ok? So don’t beat yourself up for something that you can’t control.”

“I know but I feel like I’ve been violated…” 

“Did he touch you? Because I swear on the moons, stars, and planets that I will destroy him,” Endymion interjected. 

“No, he didn’t. I just feel like my privacy was impeded on and because of that I feel super creeped out.” 

“As you should,” Kunzite agreed. “But standing here and debating this situation will get us nowhere. There’s clearly foul play at hand and we need to leverage that we know he’s here and get to safety. Staying in this library will not serve us any good especially that there are only 4 of us. We need to get to the others in order to warn them that evil is lurking within the castle walls.” 

Minako nodded in agreement. “You’re totally right! You said they were all in the Throne Room still… I’m certain that they are still there so let’s go there. There’s also a defense mechanism that we can enact in the Throne Room that will protect us further.” 

“Perfect,” Kunzite said. “Now, let’s make sure to all stick together as we navigate these hallways and that we go undetected. Stick to one another,” he said leading the way to the exit. 

***

“My gods the power has gone out this cannot be a good sign,” Luna exclaimed as she looked towards the Queen, remaining Senshi and Shitennou. About 30 minutes had passed since the fiasco with Zoisite and they were all discussing how they could protect the castle from an attack, just when they were finishing their tactical plan the lights had gone out leaving them in darkness. 

Thankfully, Nephrite had enacted the power of the stars to cast a starry light across the Throne Room. The gentle lighting at least illuminated every corner of the room leaving them aware of their surroundings. 

“We need a plan,” Luna indicated as she looked towards the outer Senshi. “I think it would be best for the three of you to search the grounds and try to find where the disturbance is coming from. And Ami, you try to locate where Prince Endymion and Princess Serenity are. Hopefully, Kunzite and Minako won’t be too far behind to protect the Royals. We need to ensure they stay safe at all costs especially Serenity considering she is the target.” 

“I’m also going to use the great fire to seek some answers,” Rei indicated as she closed her and incanted what seemed to be a spell and moved her fingers expertly following the fire rituals of Mars. She focused on the energy of the great fire as jumbled images danced behind her eyes of the encounter Serenity had with the evil being this morning and saw the aftermath of when she left. She could see him lingering in her room, touching her things, lying in her bed making himself entirely too comfortable. Her eyes flew open, “He’s already been in the castle long enough to have met Serenity,” she exclaimed. 

“What?” Queen Serenity exclaimed. “What do you mean that he met Serenity?” 

Rei explained the vision in detail and noted that it appeared he was moonlighting as an assistant and had infiltrated his way into the Royal staff. Queen Serenity let out an audible inhale “I should have told her,” she exclaimed at the realization that he had already infiltrated their grounds and had already made contact with Serenity. “Did he do anything to her?” 

Rei shook her head and decided to omit the creepy vision of him lying in her bed hugging her pillows. It was something she wanted to burn from her mind anyway because the smirk and pure joy that he had carried over the action was entirely too disturbing for her. She hoped to the gods that Serenity, wherever she was, was OK and with Minako. 

Ami, who had been working on her tablet, looked up. “I have bad news. It seems that all of our defenses are down. I can’t get into the mainframe anymore; we’re locked out!” 

Jadeite walked over to her and peered over her shoulder. “Here let me try to do something,” he said asking for the tablet and typing away on it. The light above them momentarily flickered but nothing came back on. “They must have a galaxy-class hacker to have closed and locked us out of the entire system,” he noted. “I can’t even penetrate the firewall and I consider myself to be quite the hacker,” he said, handing the tablet back. 

“Thank you for trying Jadeite,” Queen Serenity noted, “I think at this time, we move forward with my plan. Outer Senshi search the grounds for this evil, inner Senshi locate the Princess and Prince and bring them back to safety, Shitennou you may also accompany them. Luna and I will stay here as the evil always appears in the Throne Room. The good news is that we’re slightly more prepared than others as we knew the attack was coming and we have larger Senshi and Shitennou defenses than the other planets. That should hopefully be beneficial for us.”

“Your majesty I don’t believe that we should be leaving you behind,” Ami interjected. “Something about this whole situation is not sitting correctly with me…” 

“Nothing about this situation is correct my dear Ami,” the Queen responded kindly. “There have to be sacrifices and we already know the main target is not amongst us. That’s what worries me the most, she’s out there with no idea that she needs to be the most careful out of everyone.” 

“Look at you all scrambling, it’s cute,” a voice commented from somewhere in the room. 

All the heads in the room whipped around trying to locate the source of the voice but they couldn’t see where it was coming from. 

“Show yourself you coward!” Rei exclaimed as she quickly transformed into her Senshi alter ego. “You think that by hiding in the shadows you’re so clever. How about you show yourself and play with a full hand versus being underhanded. No one likes a coward,” she snarled. The rage from the past few weeks and the fate of her parents weighing heavy on her she twirled to find the offending source of the incessant chuckling that was occurring. Both Ami and Makoto also transformed along with the Shittenou who ensured they were ready to jump into action. The same applied for the outer Senshi who stood near the queen. 

“Oh, look at you all being so angry with little old me,” he continued to taunt. “Who said I'm even in the room with you? You’re just insinuating that I am… I could already be cuddled up with your dear Princess or elsewhere!” 

“Come out coward,” Makoto who was now transformed as Jupiter shouted. She grabbed a bolt of lightning and illuminated the whole room searching for him. 

“I mean if you insist, I guess I most certainly can make an appearance,” the voice continued and then went quiet. 

Nephrite scanned the room. “Does anyone see anything?” he said, still searching. “Where can that little shit be?” he asked. Before he could get an answer, he felt something grab his neck and without even throwing one punch, he felt teeth digging into his neck and blood trickling down his neck. His last thoughts before he lost consciousness was that if he didn’t see him coming they were all doomed. Nephrite dropped to the ground and the rest of the group gasped. 

“What happened?” Makoto asked. “Nephrite are you ok?” she said approaching him and received the same quick fate as she felt teeth dig into her neck and her body was flung across the room. 

“He’s too fast,” Jadeite shouted as everyone tried to cover each other as madness and mayhem continued in the now bloodied Throne Room. Every time someone thought they were able to throw a punch or even see the offender they were knocked to the ground. Eventually, the only ones who remained standing were Rei, Ami, and the Queen. 

“Send an emergency communication,” the Queen urged Rei and Ami. “They can’t receive the same fate as us,” she said to them and then addressed the evil trickster. “And as for you, whoever you are, you will not get away with this!” 

“Oh my dear Queen, the fun has only begun. I just stunned your little team of soldiers in less than 7 minutes. They’re fine for now… but later the real fun begins when I pick out their life crystals and yours,” he said with a laugh. “Watching you all scramble is just a bonus! To think the Senshi and Shitennou can’t see little old me sneaking upon them. Guess all the powers in the Galaxy can’t stop an unstoppable force, huh?” 

Rei listened to his taunts and couldn’t help but grind her teeth. He was an absolute prick and she couldn’t understand why he was so fast. No one was humanly that fast in the entire galaxy. For them to be unable to see him coming and going was ridiculous. There was no way that the others would be able to stop him without warning. As a result, she took out her communicator and sent out an emergency communication to Minako. She typed quickly, “We’re under attack in the Throne Room. Do not come here under any circumstances, find Serenity and Endymion, keep them safe and HIDE!! This guy is relentless and he’s faster than the human eye. Remember that, and Minako, he has a bone to pick with Serenity. Keep her saf...” 

“BOO!” a voice whispered in Rei’s ear and then teeth bit down into her neck. As she felt her energy being drained she had enough energy and common sense to hit send on her unfinished message and then fell to the ground unconscious. 

“Ohhh the fun is just getting started, don’t you think Queenie?” 


	5. Code Red

_ “We’re under attack in the Throne Room. Do not come here under any circumstances, find Serenity and Endymion, keep them safe and HIDE!! This guy is relentless and he’s faster than the human eye. Remember that, and Minako, he has a bone to pick with Serenity. Keep her saf...” _

Minako read the message on her communicator once more to herself. They were definitely under attack in the Throne Room and it seemed like Kunzite and her were the only hopes of keeping Endymion and Serenity safe. She looked towards Kunzite who was already looking at her with a questioning look. She hadn’t shared the message yet and she didn’t know if she should. If she did, she would cause more panic in the already frazzled Prince and Princess. 

Kunzite approached her slowly and raised an eyebrow again as if to ask what’s going on. Subtlety was not his strongest suit but he was definitely trying to flex for the sake of the other two who were behind them as they carefully navigated the open hallway. He leaned his head towards her and mouthed ‘ _ what’s going on?’  _ and to Minako’s surprise, she actually saw that he looked worried. Saying nothing more, she handed him her communicator to read the message himself. She saw him read it and immediately his demeanor stiffened and he wordlessly handed her the phone. 

_ ‘What were they going to do..?’ _ Minako thought to herself as she glanced over at Serenity and a feeling of sadness overwhelmed her. They had never been in a situation like this but then again they had trained their whole lives towards such an event to protect and serve the Lunar Royals. She just never thought that she would have become best friends with the girl who was being targeted and she didn’t know how she could deal with this evil that was spreading fear across the galaxy. It seemed like no one could stop whatever was coming and if the Throne had failed it meant that her friends had failed. How could she overcome what they did not? 

Lost in her thoughts she didn’t notice Kunzite put his arm around her shoulder. “It’s going to be ok,” he whispered into her ear. “You’re the strongest person I’ve ever met and if there’s someone who can figure it out, you will,” he said with a supportive smile and continued, “After all, Kun-Kun knows best.” He hated himself for going there but she had looked so sad and lost at that moment that he felt an inherent need to cheer her up. 

Minako looked up at him with tear brimmed eyes. He had never said anything remotely sweet to her and he chose now to do it. What a big softy, she thought to herself. “See, I knew you would cave in eventually,” she said with a small chuckle. “Just took a little action to get you going… although not the right action,” she said with a smirk and nudged him in the ribs. 

At that comment, he rolled his eyes. “Gods, I say one nice thing to you and you automatically become a pervert,” he said, taking a step away from her. 

“You assumed I was being perverted and maybe I wasn’t!” she defended herself. 

At that moment she heard Endymion shout Serenity’s name, as Minako saw her falling to her knees clutching her chest. “I can’t breathe,” she heard the panic-stricken Princess exclaim followed by “It hurts…” Endymion put his arms around her and tried to support her and calm her down. “Sere, Sere,” he said, making her look up at him, pain clearly in her eyes as she continued to try breathing through the pain. 

“What do I need to do to help her?” Endymion asked as terror took over his facial features. 

Minako dropped to her knees beside Serenity and coached her to keep breathing, and while she did, she verified if the Princess had any visible wounds. Thankfully she didn’t but it meant that whatever was attacking her was from an outside force which was even scarier. “We need to get out of this hallway,” Minako stated as she stood up again. “We’re sitting ducks and we can’t afford to be attacked when Serenity is in pain. It’s a perfect opportunity for them to overtake us and we can allow that. Endymion, pick her up and follow me, quickly,” she stated as she started to run towards a door on the left-hand side of the hallway. The door was locked but she removed what looked like a small golden moon crystal from the pocket of her dress and placed it on the door handle. The handle glowed for a few seconds before opening in front of them. 

“Quick get in,” she exclaimed motioning from the open doorway and waving them in. They moved quickly and she shut the door behind them. “This is a secret room that can only be accessed by the Senshi and leads to the Gate of Time. I didn’t want us to turn to this option so quickly but it seems like things are getting worse and we need some sort of answers. Coming in here is not ideal but it’s our best bet to get to Pluto and ask her what she sees.” She kneeled and looked over Serenity, “Serenity, are you ok?”. 

The pale Princess nodded slowly. “It passed,” she said with a strained voice. “It was... the crystal, I…” she couldn’t bring herself to say the next words and instead she burst into tears. Endymion cradled her although he was confused as to what was happening. He knew that whatever Serenity had felt could not have been a good thing and it seemed that Minako understood. 

“...Did you feel connections break with the crystal?” Minako asked slowly. The implications too deep to fully understand. She watched as her Princess slowly nodded and she felt a lump form in her throat. If she had lost connections to the sailor crystals, it meant that their friends were either gravely injured or worse. 

“I can still feel them faintly though…” Serenity offered as information. “It’s just not strong; something is trying to rip away their crystal but the silver crystal is fitting back somehow. I’m not sure if it’s my mother or the crystal, I just know that something is fighting off whatever is happening. I can feel the power pulsing through me; I can also now sense a great evil as if it’s trying to taunt me. It’s a weird feeling,” she admitted softly as she once again clutched her chest. 

“Can you disconnect from the crystal?” Endymion asked in full earnestly. 

She smiled up at him and tried to stand on her own. While she was wobbly, she was able to hold her own weight. “It’s not really something we can unplug. It’s a part of me and I’m a part of it. If I were to disconnect from it, I would most likely die.” 

Kunzite looked at Endymion and offered an explanation. “It’s like your Golden Crystal Endymion, you’re eternally connected and can’t live without it. The same applies to the Silver Crystal. From what I understand about the Lunar court, the Queen and Princess, share the burden of the Crystal until one dies and then they become the full owner.” 

“How do you know all of that?” Minako asked, genuinely curious. 

“I’m not the King's best advisor for no reason,” he said with a wink. Oh, gods, now he was winking, he thought to himself. Maybe, he was starting to lose his mind. 

“That’s a lot of information to know on how the Lunar Kingdom works,” Minako said with a shrug, “But then again, I guess I do know about the smoking bombs that someone can make appear.” 

“Oh gods, I did that once and in my excitement and as a JOKE I said smoking la bomber and it made history books. I can guarantee you that it will never happen ever again,” Endymion said with an eye roll. “Anyway, aren’t we wasting precious time with this idle chit chat? We’re clearly under attack and we need a plan to protect ourselves.” 

“... or an opportunity to use smoking la bomber again, right?” Minako said with a giggle and received a glare from all three of them. “Ok, ok, I’ll be serious but you never know they might come in handy! Anyways, we should keep moving to the Gate of Time and we can take a secret passageway directly to Pluto by going through that door,” she said pointing to a door in the corner that looked like a closet. 

“Isn’t that a closet?” Kunzite asked skeptically. 

“Well, not all doors should be super obvious Kun-Kun because sometimes we might find ourselves in a situation where we need to escape quickly and secretly through a magical door,” Minako said as she activated the golden moon key again. She put it against the door and the entire door faded into the wall and instead, a brightly illuminated portal opened. “We are magical beings on the Moon by the way,” she said with a wink. “Now follow me so we can get a little reprieve from this situation and ask Pluto some pointed questions,” she said motioning for them to step through the portal. 

Serenity and Endymion passed through first followed by Kunzite and then Minako who stepped through last making sure to close the gateway behind her and remove any trace that there was a door other than a closet in the room. As the door closed behind them they were left in pitch darkness. 

“Is this normal?” Kunzite asked from the shadows. 

“It is,” Serenity replied as a gentle glow illuminated from her hands. “Even if you were to step into this portal it wouldn’t lead anywhere. You would be lost wandering in the dark but for those who have been deemed worthy of either protecting the Royal Lunars or are a Lunar Royal they can enter this passageway,” she said with a knowing smile and extended one hand in front of her. In it floated a key shaped like a small heart adorned with jewels which almost flickered with every breath they took. 

Both Kunzite and Endymion watched in awe as the little key floated out of her hand and illuminated the large dark room they found themselves in. It appeared to be some sort of portal room with multiple doors leading to different locations. Each door, in the now dimly lit circular room, was adorned with planetary symbols while one door had great marble columns with the phases of the moons etched across it. 

Serenity looked towards the other three and motioned them to follow her. “We’ll go through the Lunar Gateway to find Pluto at that Gate of Time. It’ll be the easiest and safest way for us to get there. No one should know we’re in here and for the time being so we should hopefully be safe from danger,” she said walking towards the large doors. 

Minako looked over at Kunzite, who seemed to be generally impressed and dumbfounded at the grandness of the legendary room. “You’re usually a man of little words but you truly don’t have many right now…” she teased. 

Kunzite turned his head to her. “To be honest, it’s not every day that we get to see the Legendary Hall of Portals. We’ve only ever heard that it  _ may  _ exist and to find out that it does exist is impressive, to say the least,” he admitted. “It also speaks to the grand power that the Lunar Kingdom possesses. Is this how you usually come to visit our Kingdom?” he asked motioning to the door adorned with the Earthen crest and four Kingdoms of Earth. 

Minako nodded. “A lot easier and sneakier than using our other means of travel. At least this way, we can step through the portal, think of a place we want to go to, and then we arrive at the destination of our choice.” 

“Is that why you ended up in the Royal baths that one time?” Kunzite asked with a chuckle.

“Oh gods, that was Sere’s fault!!” Minako defended herself. “She went into the portal and instead of thinking of going to the Royal Gardens, as per usual, she thought it would be a good idea to think of Endymion and be teleported straight to him. Well, little did we know that you would all be partaking in that activity,” she said with a blush creeping into her cheeks. It had been an absolute disaster with the two of them being plopped into the middle of the baths with the five men relaxing. Let’s just say the two girls saw more than they ever thought they would on that trip and the panic that ensued from their arrival spiraled into hours of trying to get the girls dried up, the boys dressed, and getting everyone away from Endymion’s father who had been in the baths next door. 

“That was a disaster,” Kunzite said with a hearty laugh. “Not unwelcomed but very unexpected,” he said with a teasing smile.

“I’m sorry to interrupt you both,” Serenity said sweetly. She had always known there was an attraction between the two of them but Kunzite had always been reluctant to accept Minako’s flirtatious ways. It seemed that he was perhaps warming up to Minako and even though they were in the face of danger, she was happy to see they were getting along. She had it on good authority that Kunzite actually thought the world of Minako but she would never break the trust that Endymion put in her by telling her. She would let their relationship develop organically and when Kunzite would be able to admit there was something there, she knew that Minako would be waiting with open arms. “It’s just I’ll be opening the Lunar Gateway and I just didn’t want to interrupt when it’ll open.” 

“Oh apologies Serenity,” Kunzite said with a small bow looking flustered. “You’re correct we should stay on track. I sincerely apologize.” 

“Goodness no Kunzite,” she said, swatting at him. “I didn’t mean for you to clam up, I just wanted you to be aware that I was opening the gate, that’s all!” Serenity turned around and pushed the large doors before them, letting in a cool breeze followed by a slight mist. “Please make sure to follow me as we step through and keep your thoughts on the Gates of Time.” 

The other three nodded as they all walked through. The mist intensified until it was all they could see. They could no longer see each other as they walked in what they thought was hopefully the same direction. After a few moments, the mist cleared, leaving them all standing next to each other with the impressive Gate of Time and the legendary Sailor Pluto standing before them in all of her glory. Her long dark green hair moved slowly in the gentle breeze as she stepped towards them. 

“Are the four of you ok?” she asked as she approached them. 

“We are,” Serenity admitted as she stopped in front of Pluto. “But the Kingdom is under attack, we don’t know the extent of the damage or who’s hurt… I just know there have been casualties,” she said lowering her head and placing a hand on her chest. 

Pluto looked over Serenity and could feel the fluctuating power of the Silver Crystal. Being the Guardian of Time she was already aware there was a significant disruption in the Time cosmos and that the Kingdom was under attack. She would be lying if she didn’t admit that she was happy to see that her Princess was still alive and relatively unharmed. “Are you sure you’re ok? Did you feel a disruption and are you still able to handle the crystal?” Pluto asked seriously. 

Serenity nodded. “When I first felt the weakening bonds, especially my mom's, it was difficult but now the pain is duller. I’m feeling better and I think I’m still able to wield the crystal,” she admitted. “I should be able to call upon it if the need arises,” she continued. “I almost feel like I have a stronger bond with the crystal now that the other bonds are weakened. I feel horrible admitting that but it seems that I do.” 

“It would make sense,” Pluto said as she put a supportive hand on Serenity’s shoulder. “We need to make sure that we keep the four of you safe. There’s been a great disturbance in the space-time continuum and I fear that we have to regroup on how we’ll be able to defend ourselves and defeat this evil.” 

“What is the future telling you, Pluto?” Minako asked after she understood her veiled message. “Are you saying that you can’t determine who will win? I know you’re not able to tell us what you see in the future but you just spoke as though you’re someone who is uncertain about the future. You also seemed to be surprised we were ok.” 

Pluto hesitated as she watched the four pairs of eyes on her. “That was quite astute Minako of you,” she said simply before continuing. “As you know, I am bound by silence when speaking about the future but I can reveal that I don’t seem to be able to see the future. It’s blank… with no outcome on either side. It’s as though I have blinders on and I can’t see whether the outcome will be good or bad,” she admitted. “In all of my years of existence, I have never had the misfortune to experience this feeling of unknown.” 

“Well, that’s problematic,” Minako voiced. “How can you not see what’s going to happen? Has the evil spirit or being we’re fighting put a block on our futures?” 

“I don’t know,” Pluto admitted once more. “For the first time in my life, I have more questions than answers I have to admit. It seems that everything that is playing out is serving a purpose but I’m not sure what the purpose is. I’m just happy that you’re all ok,” she said looking over all of them. 

“Very well,” Kunzite nodded. “Then we have to come up with a plan ourselves. We can’t hide in the shadows and allow for this “evil” to take over especially if there is no vision of the future. Serenity and Endymion, you should stay with Pluto and Minako and I will go investigate the extent of the damage to our side. We have to know how many of us remain that are a viable option to fight against this evil.” 

“Absolutely NOT,” Endymion interjected. “I’m not going to let you go by yourself. I can help you and back you up! Don’t treat me as a fragile Prince, you know I have the Golden Crystal and I can be useful especially if the rest of the Shitennou have been compromised. It’s a numbers game and we have to show a strong resistance against this evil,” Endymion noted. 

“You do realize I’m supposed to keep you safe and not vice versa Endymion?” Kunzite said with an uncharacteristic roll of his eyes. 

“I do but when it comes to a situation such as the one we’re facing. We fight as a team to save the greater good!” 

“I agree too,” Serenity chimed in. “I’m not letting you all go without me!” 

Minako turned to her Princess with an incredulous look upon her features. “You are most certainly not, Sere! Just the crystal's effects had you doubled over in pain. We can’t just have you fight alongside with us - we need to protect YOU. You have the Silver Crystal and that cannot fall into the hands of evil.” 

“With all due respect, I also have the unlimited power of the Silver Crystal which trumps most of your combined powers,” Serenity stated, trying to stand taller to assert her authority. “And quite frankly, if I order you to bring me along YOU have to obey.” She never liked asserting her power over others but when push comes to shove she would if it meant it was for the greater good. 

“Sere, you’re being ridiculous!!” Minako shouted at her. “You can’t just command me to put you in the middle of this!” 

“I most certainly CAN and DID,” she said pointedly. “Now argue all you want but I’m going to help. I’m not this fragile little Princess that can’t defend herself. I really can help!” 

“You’re not trained to do so,” Minako interjected and then turned to Endymion - the voice of reason. “Tell her she can’t help, she’ll listen to you!” 

“I’m not getting involved in royal decrees,” he said, throwing his hands up. “I AM against her helping but I also know better than to defy those two fierce eyes,” he said motioning to the look of resolve Serenity was wearing. “I’m not stupid,” he mumbled. 

“Ugh,” Minako said, throwing her arms down. “Pluto, you tell her she can’t then,” she said looking to the older Senshi for support. 

“I’m bound by her orders and if she wishes to assist, we must let her.” 

“Am I the only one who remembers she’s the target?” Minako asked earnestly. “We can’t just bring her straight to them.” 

“And we wouldn’t be,” Serenity interjected. “I’m not saying I want to be in the middle of the action. I’m simply saying that I can assist. Maybe not in terms of physical fighting but in lending power and making sure that everything is ok.” 

“I don’t agree with this ONE bit,” Minako stated as she crossed her arms. “We have a choice to be smart here and we should be making that choice. What we’re doing right now is beyond reckless…” 

“Minako,” Pluto interrupted. “There’s an overhead message being played across the Kingdom.” 

“Wait, what do you mean? How come we can’t hear it?” 

“It’s because we’re at the Gate of Time where time stands still. Nothing can come in or come out,” Pluto explained. “I think you should all hear the message through…” she said with a grimace and made a holographic image of the Kingdom appear before them. What seemed to be a stand-alone image was soon accompanied by a chilling message: 

_ “Serenity, you have 10 minutes to show yourself. If you fail to play along with my little game I will kill one of your friends every minute you’re late. Mommy dearest will be the first casualty. Now come and play with me, sweetie!”  _


	6. Revenge is best served on a cold red platter

“I have to go. I can’t let him win,” Serenity screamed as Endymion held onto her tightly preventing her from leaving the Gate of Time. “Let me go Endymion!!” 

“We’re not saying that you can’t go, we’re saying that we need to come up with a plan,” he said through clenched teeth as the petite Princess struggled to break loose. She might have been tiny but when push came to shove she was definitely stronger than she appeared. “Just take a breath and we’ll try to figure out what we’re supposed to do. YOU KNOW this is a trap,” he said as her struggle continued. 

“I don’t care, I can’t let him hurt anyone else because of me. I can’t let him hurt my mother! If it’s me that he wants then he can have me. Maybe this will all end once I surrender, just let me go!” 

“I’m never letting go if you’re going to sacrifice yourself,” he admitted and tightened his grip. “You can’t be so reckless to think that you can just throw away your life for others!” 

“I don’t care Endymion,” she said with a sob and finally broke down in his arms. “I just don’t want anyone to get hurt…” 

“I know Sere, I know you don’t but the answer isn’t running into this battle blindly. We need a plan,” he said softly as he nuzzled into her neck. “We have to be smart about what we decide to do.” He looked up to the other three with a pleading look, “We have to come up with a plan. There has to be another way other than surrendering.” 

Kunzite nodded in agreement. There had to be another way other than handing over Serenity. Perhaps, if they even just showed themselves or if she replied to them with her own terms they would be willing to spare the massacre they had promised. “How about we play their game?” he asked finally. 

“Are you kidding me right now Kunzite?” Minako said, crossing her arms. “You want to play into their trap. I thought you were smarter than that!”

“No, no,” he said, shaking his head. “I meant… why don’t we play into their game and beat them at it. We can send back a message saying that we’re willing to play along but to play along they have to find us. So that we’re prepared for the ambush vs walking into it. This guy appears to be driven by his ego, so if we throw a challenge it’s probably something that he wouldn’t be able to resist, no?”

Minako thought the plan over for a few seconds. “I guess you’re right. We could lure them and then attack them. They don’t know that we have Pluto with us and she could be our surprise attacker. It could work if the timing is right and IF they were tempted to find us. Pluto, do you think this could work?” 

“It could work but we’re relying on the fact that he would come out to play with us. He might not want to and if he doesn’t we run the risk of killing the Queen and the rest of the Senshi.” 

“I say we try it and if it doesn’t work, then we go with my plan to surrender,” Serenity said, regaining her composure and standing up. “We can’t just stand around here chit-chatting, fully protected, and let the others die. It’s not right and not how the Lunar Kingdom works. Now, let’s come up with a plan in the next 2 minutes and go out there to fight this terrorist,” she said with determination. 

***

After a few minutes of discussion, the small but mighty group exited the safety of the Gate of Time without Pluto and found themselves in the hallway they were previously navigating. 

“Ok Sere, you’re up,” Minako said as she opened up her communicator to broadcast across the Castle. 

Serenity nodded and took a deep breath. _“I’ll play your game but I have my own rules too. I’ll give myself up to you on the exception that you find me and no more casualties. The ball is in your court!_ ” And with that, Minako closed the communicator which turned off the Castle wide communication. “Ok, that should get his attention,” Serenity said nodding. “Now, let's try to start navigating towards the Throne Room without being caught. I just hope that he’ll be willing to play this game of hide and seek,” she admitted.

“I’m sure that he’ll be willing. Let’s give him a few minutes as we head back. If he was clever enough to infiltrate the Royal Servants I’m certain that he’ll love a little game of cat and mouse,” Minako admitted. “And now, we just have to pray that Pluto gets to the Lunar Guards in time and that they were not compromised. We need numbers to ensure that we ambush the Throne Room effectively.” 

“I’m sure the Lunar Guard is on standby and trying to find a way to fix this problem. They’ve been trained on defensive tactics their entire lives. This should be an easy feat for them,” Serenity said looking at her friend. “I’ll admit that I’m a little concerned that they haven’t yet appeared and helped though. I just hope they aren’t compromised.”

“That’s what I fear too,” Minako admitted. 

“Hopefully, there are still some that will be available to help us,” Serenity admitted. 

“Same,” Minako agreed as they carefully turned another corner. She looked down the darkened hallway and saw two movements. “Wait,” she said holding up her hand and forcing Serenity behind her. Kunzite walked up to her and stood beside her. “Did you see something?”

“I did,” Minako admitted. “Show yourself,” Minako shouted to what appeared to be an empty hallway except for a few benches lined up against the windowed walls and one open door. 

Slowly two individuals stepped out into the natural light being cast from the Moon wearing Lunar Guard outfits. Their crescent moons shone brightly on their uniforms as they stepped towards the quartet with their hands slightly raised in a sign of surrender. 

One of them spoke. “Minako, it’s Jinsiu and Dal,” he said, approaching slowly. “I’m so happy that you and the Princess are safe,” he continued. “We’ve been looking all over the palace for the four of you. We heard that the rest of the Senshi and Shitennou were taken by Zias.” 

“Oh thank the gods that you two are ok,” Minako said with a sigh of relief. Both Jinsiu and Dal were the head of the Lunar Guard and the regional units respectively. They had been working with the Kingdom for years and outside of the Senshi, they were the two most trusted Lunar Guards being privy to the same level of information as the Senshi. If it weren’t for this dire situation she would hug them but she didn’t have time to do that. Before they even joined their group another message blasted through the empty halls: 

_“I like a girl that plays by her own rules. I can appreciate your offer and accept it._

_I’ll see you sooner than you expect!”_

“Why did you have to taunt him, your highness?” Jinsiu asked with his dark hair falling into his eyes. His porcelain skin was a stark contrast to the dark hair and his dark eyes that glanced over the Princess. If Serenity were honest with herself, she had always thought he was the most handsome man until she met Endymion. There was a certain similarity between them and she couldn’t hide the slight blush that crossed her cheeks as she was scolded by the older man. 

“It was the only thing we could think of,” she admitted sheepishly. “I’m happy that you’re ok though,” she admitted. It was nice to see a familiar and friendly face in this chaos. “And you too, Dal,” she said looking over to the other man that was significantly smaller than Jinsiu with his cat-like features and blinding blonde hair. A man of limited words, he simply nodded and replied with “Likewise,” and moved around the two to check up on the Princess and Prince. 

“Did Pluto get to you and tell you about the plan?” Minako asked the two men.

They looked at each other quickly and both nodded. “That’s why we’re here,” Jinsiu admitted. “We’re here to help in any way that we can.”

“Good! I’m happy that we have the both of you to count on,” Minako exclaimed with delight. She had been looking for additional help and having the two most trusted senior guards would prove extremely helpful. She clasped her hands together and got to business, “So as you know Pluto is gathering all of the Lunar guards to ambush the Throne Room and to ensure that we have the numbers to defeat this guy… wait did you call him something before? I feel like you said a name,” she asked all of a sudden. She felt like she had heard something with a Z before they were interrupted by the overhead ruckus. 

“I did,” Jinsiu admitted. “His name is Zias and he’s a fucking terror, if I may permit myself to say so. We ran a facial recognition program on him and while it didn’t originally work we were able to finally trace him back to an ancient clan named the Jaci Moon clan. They were in power before Queen Serenity but were banished when they started to experiment on Lunars and violently ingested their powers in order to become more powerful. They partook in a practice known as separation of powers (Pawoseu) and were banished due to the illegal nature of the act. It seems that Zias is a direct descendant of the leader of the clan and he’s gone power hungry focusing on ruling the universe by ingesting as many powers as possible.”

“When did you find out about all of this information?” Kunzite questioned. “How were we not informed of this level of detail upon our arrival,” he asked, taking a step forward and asserting himself between Minako and Jinsiu. There was something off about what he was saying, almost as though there was too much information and personally he didn’t trust the pretty boy further than he could throw him.

“Kunzite, stop peacocking,” Minako said, putting a hand on his shoulder and trying to move him out of the way. “They must have found out this information after Zias broke into the Kingdom.” 

“Yeah, that’s exactly it,” Jinsiu said with a wide smile and stared Kunzite directly in the eyes. “Why... don’t you trust us?” 

“There’s just something off,” Kunzite mumbled as he stood his ground and looked over to Minako for support which he realized he wasn’t going to get. He then turned his attention to Endymion instead and that’s when he realized that Endymion wasn’t even behind him anymore nor was Serenity. 

“What the…” the blow to his head came before he could finish his sentence and a throbbing sensation moved across his injured head as he clutched himself. 

“Damn the Shitennou are smarter than they look… I guess I wasn’t trustworthy after all,” Jinsiu said with a piercing laugh as the shock spread across Minako’s face. “Oh don’t look too disappointed blondie - we can’t all be good guys,” he said with a wink. “And what did you expect, it was EXHAUSTING working for you pretentious upholding blah blah idiots. Every day it was about rights and justice and happy thoughts and the people and ugh… SO TIRING. For years I had to endure all of that bullshit time and time; again and again. You think we’re the evil ones but GODS your call to duty is a killer of the soul to someone like me. So fucking tiring,” he said letting all of his pent-up tension and aggression out. 

Minako stared at Jinsiu with pure disdain spread across her face. She couldn’t believe that the leader of the Lunar Guard was to blame for the intrusion of this Zias character. That none of them had even suspected Jinsiu or Dal even once. For as long as she could remember, they had always been present at the castle and were always dutiful. They were the first for every call to action and they had the highest record of safety. It was all too ironic that the two model citizens were actually part of this mess and most probably the cause of this mess. 

“How dare you?!?” Minako angrily shouted as she tried to grab Jinsiu by the collar but she couldn’t. She couldn’t even move; how was that even possible? How had she not felt the restraints? She looked down and saw that a clear sparkly aura floated around her midsection and her arms. The same applied to her legs and she instinctively tried to take a step forward. “You bastard, what did you do?” 

“Moi?” Jinsiu said, pointing to himself. “It wasn’t really me, it was Dal. He’s the clever and cunning one seriously. He doesn’t say much but by gods when he does talk does he have good ideas. You didn’t even realize that he put the restraints on you or that he took your precious little Princess or the idiot Prince,” he said with another grin. “You just blindly trusted me… you’re all so fucking stupid. Who would have taught that our little plan would have worked so well?” 

“How dare you!!” Minako screamed as she struggled against her bonds. She wildly looked around her and saw that he was telling the truth. Serenity and Endymion were gone, nowhere to be seen. How could she have been so stupid and trusted in this fool? Now that she looked at him, she could see the evil within him, the piercing gaze and his wicked smile. The enemy had been under their nose this entire time and for years. This had not been an impulsive attack but a slow and deliberate one that would have taken years. He knew all of their secrets, all of their weaknesses, and all of their defenses. 

“Oh Princess Minako, is your little pea brain starting to put things together?” he said flicking her forehead. “Took you long enough,” he said with another laugh. “Seems like brooding old guy over here figured it out in less than 2 minutes but it took you…” he started counting on his fingers, “Hmm…. 7 years? Some kind of leader you are, huh?” he said laughing. “I guess her Majesty was correct in keeping all of the secrets hidden from you. You’ve clearly demonstrated that you’re a pathetic airhead leader!” 

Before Minako could scream at Jinsiu herself, Kunzite erupted. “TOUCH HER ONE MORE TIME and I swear to the gods and all that is holy I will rip each of your limbs off slowly and make you eat them,” he said through clenched teeth. “And believe me, insult her intelligence one more time and I swear, no amounts of restraints will keep me from wiping that shit-eating grin off your fucking face!” 

“Ohhhh lover boy is angry now. What a twist!” Jinsiu said, throwing his hands up. “Well loverboy,” he said walking up to him and patting him on the face. “Try breaking out of those restraints - I encourage you to try! You would be surprised how fucking sturdy they are. Go on… Try!” he said crossing his arms and nodding encouragingly. “I’ll wait!” 

“You son of a bitch,” Kunzite exclaimed as he tried to break free of the restraints. Instead of loosening the restraints, they became stronger and sturdier rendering him immobile. Kunzite wasn’t one to lose his temper but when he did, he saw red. It was one of the reasons that he tried to stay calm all the time. He didn’t want others to see this side of him and he knew he had to calm himself down somehow. He just didn’t know-how as the situation seemed dire and they were attacking the one person that could get under his skin. His one weakness that he couldn’t admit to himself yet or anyone. 

“It’s ok Kunzite,” Minako chimed in through gritted teeth. “He’s not even half the man you are, so let him think that he’s the big man on campus right now. You know why Jinsiu? Because good always fucking wins over evil, so have fun for now and when the tides change in our favour, watch the fuck out,” she said staring him down. 

“Yeah, I don’t think it’s going to work, my little friends. We literally just kidnapped the Prince and Princess without you knowing and trapped you. OH, and we also killed half the population of how many planets? Pretty certain, we got this honey bun. Anyway, all this chatting is soooo tiresome… So, how about... lights off!” he said, clapping both his hands together which activated the restraints as they erupted in lightning not only paralyzing Minako and Kunzite but sending shocks throughout their bodies rendering them unconscious. 

Dal came out of the shadows of the room they stood next to. “That was easier than I thought,” he said as the unconscious restrained bodies of Endymion and Serenity floated next to him. 

“The optimists never see the obvious before them,” Jinsiu said with a shrug. “Not my problem. Now let’s bring them to Zias before he loses his shit.” 

“You think we should be worried they mentioned that Pluto was on the loose?” Dal asked quietly. 

“Nope, we always knew she was going to be on the loose and we have a plan for her anyway. If everything works out, she should also be captured by now. Anyway, let’s just get them to Zias. The quicker we do that, the better for our side. If we have the Princess, Queen, and Prince, we’re untouchable. So stop worrying and follow me!” 

Both Dal and Jinsiu walked down the hallway with the four bodies following them. What they hadn’t accounted for was that another body that was very much alive and in the corner had been listening to their conversation intently. “Oh, just you wait you fucking assholes. Just you wait until I join the fucking party - then the real fireworks will begin!” 


	7. A sea of RED

The usually lively Throne room was eerily quiet as bodies and blood littered the floor of the usually clean white marble. At the head of Throne Room where the Queen could usually be found sitting on the plush white chaise sat the cause of all the heartache and troubles, the galaxy had been experiencing. He sat, legs thrown over the chaise, and was humming a song to himself as his light blue eyes danced with joy. He had never felt so powerful in his entire life. The consumption of the crystals and the blood of the legendary fighters he had ingested were giving him such a significant boost of energy that he thought he could do anything in the World. Clearly, he had already done a great job as he had defeated the Moon Kingdom. 

  
  


While there remained the small problem of the Prince and Princess along with one Shitennou and one inner Senshi, he wasn’t worried. He knew that he would win no matter what. He wanted to be the most powerful being in the Universe and he was so close to accomplishing his feat. All he needed were the Golden and Silver Crystal. Then his mission would be complete and the destruction of the oppressive reign of the Senshi and the Lunar Kingdom would end. Then a new era would begin with him at the head of the Throne securing his name and clan as the legacy they should be.

The grand doors opened and he turned his head to look at his fateful subjects, Dal and Jinsiu, entering with the four bodies he required. He sat up in his chair and clapped his hands excitedly. “Ohh the little mice were playing and hiding but they couldn’t hide from us forever,” he said, jumping down from the Throne and meeting up with Dal and Jinsiu just as the bodies were laid at his feet. 

“No, but by the gods was this one a pain in the ass,” Jinsiu said as he kicked Kunzite. “He’s got an attitude so when you wake them up to play your little taunting game, just know that he’s got a temper!” 

“Fair enough,” Zias said as the bodies lay before him. “So, let me get the dynamics for this little foursome. Are we dealing with couples? I feel like they’re couples” 

Dal nodded. “It’s so cliche it makes me sick,” he said with an eye roll. “Have fun with your prey. I’m going to sit over there and watch the shit show. This whole thing has been super tiring and exhausting quite frankly.”

“Man, your stamina is always terrible,” Zias said with an eye-roll, “But at least you’re super-efficient,” he said, waving off Dal as he walked to take a seat. 

“So, anything else I should know,” Zias asked Jinsiu. 

“Not that I can think of. You seem to be in a great position, so have fun!” Jinisu said as he patted Zias on the shoulder. “Knock them dead,” he said with a laugh and wink as he walked towards the doors of the room to ensure they were magically locked. 

Zias looked down at the four bodies and lingered on Serenity. She looked so peaceful, so serene. So unaware of what he could do to her. He leaned down and passed a hand over her cheek. They were definitely not lying when they said that she was beautiful, he thought to himself, and let his hand linger on her face. “You’ll soon be mine” he whispered in her ear as he bent down further and smiled into the crook of her neck placing a soft kiss. He could feel her slow pulse beating beneath his lips and it took every last ounce of willpower to back away from her. While he needed her in more ways than one, he wanted the theatrics more and stood back up. Clasping his hands together he smiled evilly letting his teeth accentuate the maliciousness that was reflected in his eyes. 

“It’s time for the show to begin my lovelies,” he said with one last chuckle and extended his arms out in front of him. A gust of air blew from his fingertips and hit the four unconscious bodies beckoning them to wake up. They started to stir and he clapped his hands excitedly as he magically lifted the four bodies to kneeling positions in front of him and waited for them to open their eyes. 

Endymion was the first to wake up. His groggy eyes opened slowly as he tried to adjust to the light in front of him. He had no idea what had happened to him. One minute he had been in the hallway listening to Minako and that guard speak and the next he felt like a truck had hit him and he passed out. His eyes slowly adjusted to the scene before him as he focused on who he suspected was the beast behind all of the tragedy and then, he saw the bodies scattered across the room. The smell of blood was overwhelming and it took everything in his power not to be sick.

“You…” he managed to speak. His tongue felt heavy and clumsy. 

“Yes, me?” Zias said excitedly. “It’s moi mon ami,” he said with a smile. “Let’s wait until the others are awake Princey-Poo, ok? No point in repeating everything four times. It’ll get boring and ruin the effect,” he joyously exclaimed. 

Endymion closed his eyes momentarily to readjust to the lighting and also to take in the situation they found themselves in. Endymion considered himself a realist and he wasn’t going to lie to himself; the situation seemed dire. He opened his eyes when he heard the others stirring next to him. He watched as Minako and Kunzite opened their eyes and took in the situation. He saw the reality of the situation hit them in the same way it had hit him. Lastly, Serenity’s eyes opened. He knew she would take it the hardest and he waited for her to fully comprehend the situation and wished he could comfort her but the bonds around his body prevented him from moving even an inch. She made eye contact with him and his heart broke as tears filled her eyes, a mixture of fear, sadness, and pure hatred for the man that towered over them. 

“Oh lucky me, you’re all awake!” Zias said happily and clasped his hands behind his back. “I’ll be honest you gave me a run for my money for a little while there. I didn’t think I would be able to find you all especially when you disappeared from the radar. Your presence just up and disappeared and I thought you all left the moon but you didn’t, so thank you for that! After all, you’re the guests of honours to our lovely festivities and feast!” 

“You..are a mons...ter,” Serenity managed to mumble as her icy stare tore through Zias. 

“Oh Princess, some say a monster, others think I’m a prodigy! I just think I’m getting my proper retribution. At the end of the day, I’m just happy that you now know who I am. I don’t have to lurk in the shadows anymore and I can be me freely. It’s a glorious day!  
  


“Do you hear yourself speaking?” Minako interrupted. “You sound like an absolute psychopath.” 

“Oh hush now Ms. Venus. I don’t want to hear a peep out of you. My future bride and I are having an intimate chat, so please refrain from interrupting.” 

“Over my dead body,” Endymion exclaimed at the absurd statement. “Is this what this was all about? To get your filthy hands on Serenity. There is no way under all of the galaxy that I would allow that to happen!” 

“Oh rest assured Endymion, you won’t be a problem much longer. So, over your dead body indeed!”

“I won’t allow it,” Kunzite exclaimed. “You won’t get away with your plan!” 

“I’m sorry,” Zias said looking offended, “Are we not watching the same movie? Do we not all see that I have successfully conquered several planets and that I completely disabled the Lunar Kingdom. Does no one see that? Not to mention that I have efficiently disarmed the Shitennou and also kidnapped the Prince of Earth? Oh and not to mention, that I have the Queen of the Moon as my hostage over there,” he said pointing to the Queen who was hanging lifelessly in the middle of the room, “And I have you, folks, too? So, that seems like a pretty significant victory to me,” he said nodding in agreement with himself. “Wouldn't you say?” 

“Evil will never win you monster,” Serenity uttered. 

Zias slowly approached her for effect and placed a hand on the side of her face as she tried to recoil. He grabbed her face firmly, “Look at me when I speak to you,” he snarled as she tried to move out of his grasp. “I already won honey so you’re either with me or against me.” 

Serenity was about to reply in defiance when Kunzite spoke up quickly. “It does appear that you have won. Now, explain to us why you’re doing all of this? It seems desperate and frankly quite drastic to do all of this for a trophy wife.” The last thing Kunzite needed was for this psychopath to lash out at Serenity and then for Endymion to lose his mind. He needed everyone to stay as calm as possible until he could think of a plan. They were clearly surrounded and at a disadvantage but there could be something he was missing. He just needed time to think and getting this buffoon to speak would give him time. Every good evil guy always had a great story of his trials and tribulations on how they became evil. He needed this guy to explain that story so he could think of a plan. 

Zias looked over at Kunzite and sighed. “You’re right. I should explain why all of this is happening to you. And NO, to answer your question it’s not just to get my hands on her,” he said letting go of her face and straightening out. “I’m doing this because my family was mistreated by the Lunar Kingdom and the other planets. We were banished before we could even explain our side of events. You were all so quick to dismiss the Jaci Moon clan and call us radicals. We were just scientists really,” he said with a shrug. “While Pawoseu is _technically_ illegal, I think you only made it illegal because my clan is at an advantage really. That’s what you’re scared of us. That we can take back the powers you possess. We can control everyone’s destiny and instead of letting us live the way we should, you banished us like second class citizens. Sure there are slight side effects to Pawoseu but if I want your powers, who are you to stop me from having them? It’s my birthright to take what is mine and what I pursue. Such is the way of the Jaci clan.” 

Serenity, Endymion, Minako, and Kunzite looked at him as though he was crazy. “Well, clearly we won’t see eye to eye on all of this by your expressions. All I’m saying is that it’s not fair that you were all born with these legendary crystals and powers, and that we had to suppress our powers and scrape by as second class citizens because we weren’t bestowed with the powers, to begin with. It’s not my fault that my ancestors figured out that we could extract them from you and take them as our own. What’s that Earthen saying you like to say… Finders keepers? Well, in this case, don’t you think that it’s absolutely fitting?” 

“But you’re killing people by taking their powers,” Serenity interjected. “How can you not see that it’s inhumane to do so?” 

“Well honey, first of all, I’m not human… so there’s that. I’m a Jaci as a quick reminder and second of all, I don’t need to kill them to take their powers. I just disabled them! I’m pretty sure you know that I didn’t kill your little friends here. I just took a portion of their powers and I haven’t stolen their crystals yet. Don’t worry and don’t get me wrong… I will but I just got the party started and I didn’t want the grand finale to go unwatched. After all, half the fun is getting your reactions to all of this!”

“You’re sick… I really don’t understand why you need all of these powers? What are you going to do when you have no more powers to take?” Serenity asked. 

“At that point, I’ll be satisfied to know that everyone who disregarded my ancestors will have paid the price they needed to pay. And then I’ll rule the galaxy with my laws. Senshi and Shitennou eradicated and Jaci in their rightful place.” 

“You’re insane!” Serenity exclaimed. 

“You say insane, I say a man with a vision. You’ll learn to love my vision my dear. Sure, there was a little snag in the plan to find out that you’ve been flirting it up with Endymion but it’s nothing that a little brainwashing and a forceful hand can’t change. So overall, I’m really not worried about how this will play out. You can’t defeat me!” 

“What happens if you lose the powers you stole?” Serenity asked through gritted teeth. “What happens then?” 

“As if I can lose them. I would have to give them up and I don’t see that happening. To quote lover boy: over my dead body you can have them,” Zias said with a chuckle. 

“That can be arranged,” Serenity said, staring him down. Gone was the sweet and gentle Princess and in its place were defiant eyes unwilling to succumb to whatever mad plan Zias had. 

“Oh look at you being feisty. You have no idea how much of a turn on your little outburst and angry eyes are,” he said licking his lips. “I can’t wait to claim you. You’ll be my biggest prize!”

“You’ll never have control over me or the others. NEVER. I won’t allow it,” Serenity replied sternly. “I would rather die than be in your control!” 

“My dear Serenity, have you learned nothing? Do you not understand that I can do whatever I want?” Zias said moving his head from side to side. He was starting to lose his patience. She was beautiful but she talked too much. He moved quickly back to her side, face to face, losing his temper. “I can do whatever I want to you and you can’t do anything.”

“I beg to differ,” Serenity exclaimed as she struggled against the bonds and smashed her head against his. He hissed at the impact and grabbed her neck as the others screamed for him to let her go. “Stupid little Princess,” he snarled as blood dripped out of his nose. “Let me show you exactly who’s boss,” he continued as he applied pressure to her neck and turned her head to the side. He saw her vein pulsating in her neck and bit down into her neck tasting the power as he slowly drained her blood. He had never experienced anything as wonderful as what he was experiencing. The power, the rush, the sensation washed over his body as he heard the screams of her friends begging for him to stop. It was all such a rush as he felt her pulse slow and her head fell back. At that he let go of her neck with both his hand and his teeth and stood up slowly, feeling like a new man. He licked his lips once more revelling in the feeling coursing through his body. 

“What have you done?!?” Endymion exclaimed as Serenity fell over hitting the floor with a soft thud. Residue blood dripping down her neck and her lifeless body lying still. “Serenity, SERENITY,” Endymion said, trying to rid himself of the magical bonds that kept him immobilized and moved towards her. 

Minako was also trying to break free to check on Serenity but she couldn’t move. “Why would you do that? You said that you wanted her by your side! Why would you do that??” she repeated as panic coursed through her veins. 

Zias wiped his mouth and shrugged. “Oh, all of you hush. She’s fine. You all know she’s the most powerful entity in the galaxy. If you think a one-time bite is going to kill her you’re either all stupid or naive! Don’t let her appearance deceive you - I tasted the power she has and by gods is she delicious. She’s just going to have a good nap and think about how disobeying me is not a good idea. Think of it as me teaching her a lesson.”

“It’s the only lesson you’ll ever teach her,” Endymion growled, losing his temper. 

“I swear to the gods when I’m out of these bonds, I will kill you myself,” Minako uttered. 

“SILENCE both of you! It’s so tiresome to hear the peanut gallery incessantly,” Zias said with another eye roll. “I need her but not the three of you,” he said coldly and raised his hand. “I think it’s time to get rid of your crystals first you bothersome pests and to have the Shitennou and Senshi fully disabled by losing their leaders.” He closed his eyes and called upon the ancient Jaci power to call forth the crystals that lay buried in their chests. Just as he felt the crystals starting to react to his power a loud explosion interrupted the ritual. 

At the entrance of the Throne Room where the magically closed doors were once sealed smoke and debris lay splattered. The residue smoke started to evaporate and as it did none other than Zoisite stood in the debris in all of his glory. Powerful ice crystals surrounded him as he stared down Zias and left Endymion, Kunzite, and Minako completely dumbfounded. “Learn how to count mother fucker,” he said with a smirk, “There’s **FOUR** fucking Shitennou and **ONE** Prince…” he shouted as he unleashed the crystals towards Zias, Jinsiu, and Dal. He then quickly used his teleportation powers to send a flurry of petals towards his allies to not only remove their magical bonds but also to bring them at his side with his final words of: 

“GAME ON BITCHES!” 


	8. Red ties must die

A few hours prior to Zoisite bursting through the doors of the Throne room…

Zoisite lay in the dark on his bed where Endymion and Kunzite had dropped him off. Even though some time had passed since his theatrics he still chuckled at how fast he “fainted” in order to help Endymion in his godforsaken rant. Still basking in his saviour tendencies, he got up from his bed and went to turn on his light and oddly enough, they didn’t turn on. He went to another lamp and tried to turn that one on and nothing happened. He stood there for a few moments wondering if it was normal for the Moon to lose power. He seemed to recall that the Lunar Kingdom had an endless supply of energy which prevented them from losing power. Therefore these types of situations should not happen. After a few moments of consideration, he decided to leave his room to explore what was happening and as he left, he noticed that the darkened hallways were eerily quiet. 

“This can’t be a good sign,” he said to himself as he took out his cellphone. He punched into a tracker app that he had and noticed that Nephrite and Jadeite were still in the Throne Room while Kunzite and Endymion didn’t seem to be on the radar at all. “This is too weird,” he noted out loud and decided that being exposed in the hallways was perhaps not a good idea. Something was definitely off and he didn’t feel right about the current circumstances. As a result, he scooted into the first room that was unlocked and noticed that it was someone's living quarters.

“Sorry for intruding,” he said to no one in particular as he stood in the empty room. He needed to figure out what was going on and he needed a plan if things had gone awry as he suspected they had. As he was coming up with a plan he heard an overhead message: 

_ “Serenity, you have 10 minutes to show yourself. If you fail to play along with my little game I will kill one of your friends every minute you’re late. Mommy dearest will be the first casualty. Now come and play with me, sweetie!”  _

“Ok… that is DEFINITELY not a good sign,” Zoisite said as he thought about his next steps. Clearly, the Queen was taken hostage and potentially everyone else that was in the Throne Room. The good news was that if the evil guy was taunting Serenity, it meant that at least Serenity and most likely Endymion, Kunzite, and Minako were all safe somewhere. He needed to meet up with them and see if he could help in whatever situation they were in. 

He just had to figure out where they were - that was a mystery in itself. It was beyond him how they were off the radar. The Shitennou and Endymion always had a tracker on them so how was it that Kunzite and Endymion were off the grid? “Where are they?” he thought to himself as he tapped his lip. After a few moments of deep thought, he realized they might have been in a safe room within the confines of the Castle. There had to be a place that would be sacred for Royalty to protect themselves and go undetected. That had to be why he couldn’t locate them. 

“Ok, Zoisite. Think… What's your next move? Assume you’re the only one who can do something,” he coached himself out loud as he paced the vacant room. 

_ “I’ll play your game but I have my own rules too. I’ll give myself up to you on the exception that you find me and no more casualties. The ball is in your court! _

Another overhead message; perfect they were ok, Zoisite thought to himself. They were batting the evil guy to find them. That was a good plan, he thought to himself, as it would give them time to come up with a plan. Now if he could just find them, that would be ideal. 

“The castle is only so big…” Zoisite thought to himself. “I’ll start in the quadrants furthest from the Throne Room and then work my way back up,” he rationalized as he finally left the confines of the room he broke into. It was the only way that he could ensure that he would cross paths with them eventually. As he walked down the different corridors and tried not to get lost another message blared: 

_ “I like a girl that plays by her own rules. I can appreciate your offer and accept it.  _

_ I’ll see you sooner than you expect!”  _

A taunt right back at her, Zoisite thought to himself. He tried to listen to the words carefully and played them in his mind.  _ I’ll see you sooner than you expect,  _ he knows where they are, he realized. As a result, he quickened his pace with a sense of urgency to find them as quickly as possible. He turned another corner and came to a dead stop when he saw Kunzite, Minako, and some unknown guy having an argument. He inched closer making sure to stay in the shadows and hid behind a marble statue. He could hear that Endymion and Serenity had been taken. Then without much warning, Kunzite and Minako were taken out. He watched closely as another bad guy emerged from the shadows with Endymion and Serenity bound. He listened as the two guys noted that Pluto was unaccounted for as well. 

‘Good… I need her’ Zoisite thought to himself as he watched the two guys leave with the four floating bodies beside them and he uttered “Oh just you wait you fucking assholes. Just you wait until I join the fucking party - then the real fireworks will begin!”

Escaping into the shadows once more he decided his first mission was to find Pluto and then to save the day. He needed to make sure she was still unaccounted for and an ally for him. They would be able to ambush together; the perfect element of surprise. 

“How are you not in the Throne Room?” a voice asked him from behind him and in typical Zoisite fashion, he went from 1 to a 100 in less than 1 second. He conjured his ice crystals and was ready to attack when he realized that the voice that spoke was Pluto herself. 

“By the gods, you scared me half to death!” he exclaimed as he clutched his chest and let his crystals disappear. “Don’t sneak up on people!” 

“Coming from the Shitennou that’s been sneaking around the entire Castle that’s funny,” she said with a smile. “You’re quite the maneuverer!” 

“My gods I’m still trying to recover from you sneaking up on me,” he said clutching his chest. “Before you scared me half to death, I was actually looking for the Prince and Princess but then when I realized they were compromised I set my sights on finding you!”

“Good plan,” she admitted. “So they were taken? I was busy rallying the Lunar Guards but noticed that most of them were nowhere to be found. I don’t know what happened to them but I can’t locate them.” 

“Well, I have a feeling that the two shady ass fucks with Lunar Guard outfits had something to do with it,” he said pointing behind him. “Also, aren’t you capable of knowing the future?” 

“Typically yes but so many things are happening that the future keeps on fluctuating. I can’t get a clear reading on what’s happening because there are too many factors. One of them being you - how are you not in the Throne Room?” 

“Let’s just say my theatrics got me out of the Throne Room and that looking back it’s a blessing in disguise that it worked. Now, enough about me. We need to come up with a plan on how to get our friends back. I can only imagine what’s going on....” 

“It’s not good,” Pluto admitted and pulled out a communicator that displayed a surveillance camera for the Throne Room. “I’ll show you what’s happened but it’s quite graphic…” 

“Is anyone actually dead?” Zoisite asked seriously. “That’s what I want to know. If you tell me they’re injured but still alive, I can deal with that.” 

“Still alive but injured - that’s what we’re dealing with and from the looks of it, we have to assume that no one can assist as they are all critically injured. As a result, it might just be the two of us.” 

“I’m ok with that… you know why? Because we have the element of surprise! It’ll at least destabilize them. So how about we come up with a plan to give these evil guys a run for their money and get luck back on our side?” 

“I couldn’t agree more,” she said with a smile as the two huddled together to come up with a plan. 

***

“GAME ON BITCHES!” 

And so, Zoisite found himself the center of attention having temporarily rescued his friends. He stood in the entrance breathing heavily after having displayed immense power. He fell to his knees to catch his breath. He hadn’t even known if he would be capable of breaking down the door, using his ice crystals, and his teleportation all in one shot. He was happy to see that it had indeed worked out. He looked to Kunzite who seemed bewildered and simply replied with “Sorry I’m late!” 

Kunzite let out a chuckle and shook his head as he stood up patting Zoisite on the shoulder. “You have no idea how happy I am to see you,” he said earnestly as he squared his shoulders to face the confused Zias. Minako joined him as well and flashed a grateful smile to Zoisite and mouthed a sincere thank you before turning to Kunzite. 

“You thinking what I’m thinking Kun-Kun?” Minako asked, keeping eye contact with him. 

“If it has anything to do with kicking his ass, I’m all in,” he said with a smirk. 

“You bet your well-sculpted ass it is!” she replied. “Oh and hey Zias  _ my dear… VENUS CRYSTAL POWER!”  _ she shouted as a flash of orange and yellow burst through the entire room and left her standing beside Kunzite as Sailor Venus. 

Zias rolled his eyes. “You think a little distraction like that can stop me? Do you not realize I successfully attacked ALL of your friends and disabled them? That’s because I have fucking speed on my side,” he said as he disappeared in a flash of light.

Both Kunzite, Minako, and Zoisite looked around them wondering what had just happened. Before they could question where Zias had gone, Zoisite felt his body being pushed into the wall and saw the same thing happen to Minako and Kunzite. The three flew through the air until they were all separated. 

Zias reappeared with a satisfied grin on his face. “Don’t you understand you’re all my prey? You can’t predict my moves. You can’t win against me. I'm far too powerful, agile, and quick-witted!” 

“You forgot cocky,” Zoisite said with a laugh as he lifted himself off the ground. He might have actually broken a few ribs as he tried to take a breath and coughed. “Definitely cocky,” he said nodding, “and naive,” he added as he laughed again.

“What do you mean by naive? You’re the one who’s naive,” he spat back. “I’m clearly winning in this situation.” 

“Maybe that’s what I wanted you to think,” Zoisite said with a wink. “Maybe there’s more to this whole situation…So, let me introduce you to my friend, Sailor Pluto,” he said motioning to the legendary Senshi that was now standing in the doorway with her Garnet Rod at the ready.

“She can’t do anything to stop me,” Zias said as he disappeared in another flash. 

Sailor Pluto calmly put her Garnet Rod in front of her and then lifted it. “Time Stop,” she said simply and all-time stopped in the Castle. Everyone froze in time including Zias who was inches away from reaching her. She walked out of his path and went to the Endymion who was cradling Serenity. She placed a hand on Endymion unfreezing him and did the same to Serenity. 

“We don’t have much time but I was able to give us some time to regroup,” she said softly as Endymion looked up at her. 

“I can’t wake her up,” he said as he tried to hold back a shudder.

“It’s ok. I’ll wake her up,” Pluto said reassuringly as she placed her hand on Serenity’s chest. She closed her eyes and an aura illuminated around her and Serenity as she transferred some of her life energy to the Princess. She needed Serenity to wake up and heal those who were stricken down. After a few moments, she felt Serenity shift and she opened her eyes. 

“Pluto,” Serenity said softly as she tried to sit up. 

“Don’t move too much Princess,” she said softly. “Endymion please try to keep her safe when I let go of the time stop. I need to get to the other three and wake them up so we have an advantage,” she said standing up and going to Minako, Kunzite, and Zoisite. She touched all three and they moved into consciousness. 

Minako slowly stirred and looked up at Pluto. She had never been so happy to see anyone in her life. She stood up quickly and threw her arms around Pluto, “Thank god both of you decided to show up!” she said as she also glanced over at Zoisite. “I have so many questions to ask both of you but I know we’re short on time. Pluto, did you use Time Stop?” 

“I did so we only have a few seconds before I have to stop it. I would suggest a surprise ambush would be the best outcome here.”

“Oh I’m on it,” Zoisite said, rolling up his sleeve. “What is this guy's name anyway?” he said, turning to the other two. 

“Zias,” Minako and Kunzite both said at the same time. 

“Perfecto! Just wanted to know who’s ass we’re going to beat down today,” he said with a chuckle as he approached the immobile Zias stopping a few feet from him. “Ready whenever you are Pluto,” he said with a smirk. 

Pluto closed her eyes and let go of the Time Stop as everything came back into motion. Zoisite grabbed Zias by the collar and pushed him against the wall. The surprise was registered on Zias’ face as Zoisite conjured his rose petals. 

“Oh so now you’ll defeat me with flowers?” 

“Oh no, that’s his deal,” he said nodding towards Endymion. “Mine are a little more intense than that,” he said as the rose petals started to turn into needle-sharp shards and pinned Zias to the wall. “Just a tad more deadly than flowers,” he said with a chuckle. “Minako, Kunzite would you like a word with this guy?” 

“You think that these little needles are going to keep me here?!?” he asked incredulously. 

“No but I think a combination of things might,” Minako retorted as she called forth her power, “VENUS LOVE ME CHAINS” she screamed as the colourful and bright chains swirled around her. They illuminated the fierceness in her face as she sent the chains towards Zias to wrap around his body. 

Zias let out a maniacal laugh as the chains burned into him. He concentrated his energy and called upon one of his many powers breaking both the chains and shards as he stepped forward enveloped in a red hue. “Like I said, you need a lot more than that to keep me restrained,” he repeated as he let a massive fire wave travel towards the four of them. Kunzite put up his hand and created an energy dome around them that protected them from the extreme attack. Once the attack died down he removed the dome quickly and sent a massive amount of energy towards Zias. 

Zias expertly dodged the attack and sent another attack, this time a wave of water which crashed into the four and sent them flying across the Throne room. They quickly recovered and stood back up sending attack after attack which was expertly deflected by Zias. 

“I can continue all day,” Zias noted as he sent another attack but this time in the form of lighting which crashed down onto the four. Once again Kunzite was able to enact a dome to protect them all. 

He turned to Minako, Zoisite, and Pluto, “I don’t know how much longer I can keep on erecting this dome. We’re not as powerful as the Senshi,” he noted looking between himself and Zoisite. 

“It’s ok Kunzite. I’ve had enough of his shenanigans,” Minako said standing up. “Zoisite you attack first,” she whispered, “and then I think it’s time we bring out the big guns,” she said, taking a few steps forward. Zoisite sent his attack of icy shards and when Zias was ducking from them Minako prepared for her attack. As if sensing Minako would strike first, Zias narrowed his eyes at her and used his extreme speed to target the Senshi of love. He expertly dodged an attack from Kunzite and another from Zoisite as he crashed into Minako. 

“You’re such a pest ALL OF YOU,” he screamed as he dug his nails into Minako’s shoulder. “If I have to take you out one by one, I will. You got first draft blondie,” he snarled as he conjured his power of fire once more and unleashed it onto Minako who was pinned. She let out a scream as the power hit her. Refusing to be defeated she looked up at him defiantly as his relentless attack continued. Through gritted teeth, she said, “You’re the pest… VENUS LOVE AND BEAUTY SHOCK” she uttered as she unleashed her strongest attack hitting him square in the chest.

Shocked and in pain, Zias fell to the ground coughing as he tried to recover from the attack. Minako crawled away from him as Kunzite sent another attack onto Zias, disabling him further and Pluto sent her Dead Scream, ensuring he would be fully disabled. Zias lay on his back breathing deeply as he tried to regain his composure as Minako struggled to her feet. 

Kunzite ran to her and steadied her by throwing an arm around her waist. “Are you ok Minako?” he asked looking her over and noticing the many bruises and burns on her body. She simply nodded before putting a hand on his cheek. “See, I knew you cared more than you were letting on Kun-Kun,” she said with a laugh that started a coughing fit. 

“Dear gods, are you ok? And fine, I do care but now's not the time to speak of it. You need to rest while the rest of us take care of him,” Kunzite said as he held onto her tightly.

“Such a man’s response,” she joked and stood up more firmly. “We all started this so how about we all finish it?” she said with a glimmer of defiance in her eyes. “And how about we start with the two cowards over there…” she said, shifting her eye gaze to the silent bystanders formerly known as Jinsiu and Dal. 

While they had been idly standing by, thinking their lord and saviour Zias could handle the Shitennou and Senshi, Dal and Jinsiu realized they needed to start protecting their fallen Prince. They, therefore, took the opportunity to unleash their attacks on the Senshi and Shitennou team. To their dismay, the team was quicker than them and quickly disabled them by knocking them off their feet. Minako ordered Zoisite to handle the two Lunar guards and he did so with immense pleasure walking over to magically tie them up with the same bonds they had used on Kunzite, Minako, Serenity, and Endymion. 

In the meantime, slightly slower than usual Zias crawled to his knees. “You can’t defeat me,” he choked as blood dripped out of his mouth. “A few measly attacks can’t take me down,” he screamed. “You CAN’T take me down,” he reiterated as he struggled to stand up. 

“Yes, we can.”

Everyone turned around to see Serenity standing fiercely by Endymion. “Not only can we take you down, but we WILL take you down,” she reiterated. “You’ve caused enough havoc, heartache, and chaos for one lifetime,” she noted as she walked towards him. 

Minako took a step forward to make a barrier between the Princess and Zias but Kunzite placed a hand on her arm. “No, let her. I’m not sure what’s happening but I think the crystal is acting on her behalf,” Kunzite said nodding in her direction. With every step Serenity took towards Zias the more the Silver Crystal reacted until it appeared in between both of her hands. A blinding calming light illuminating the entire room. 

“It’s time for you to stop,” she repeated as the crystal continued to shine from her hands. 

“Look who’s pretentious now,” Zias said with a snarl and tried to jump at Serenity. 

Without significant effort, Serenity held up her hands, with the crystal in front of her and calmly said, “Only those with a pure heart can wield my powers. As such, you must be defeated and removed due to your wrongdoings.” And with those words, a shower of light erupted from the crystal hitting Zias across his entire body. He screamed as the power permeated through him forcing him to his knees once again. He questioned what was happening as the power of the crystal continued to shower on top of him like a meteor shower hitting the atmosphere of Earth. With each ray and spark from the crystal, another scream escaped his body as the powers he stole were slowly evacuated one by one for what seemed to last an eternity. His battered body finally came to a thud on the floor as the last ounce of stolen power left his now depleted body leaving him wheezing and unconscious on the floor. 

The blinding light from the crystal continued across the entire room for a few moments until it stopped abruptly when Serenity fell to the ground, the silver crystal rolling away from her. Everyone ran towards her with Minako and Endymion reaching her first. Endymion looked to Minako for answers but she shook her head. 

“I have no idea what just happened,” Minako admitted. “I’ve never seen her display powers like that or speak like that… it was almost as though the crystal was talking on her behalf. It was weird, right?” 

Zoisite nodded. “It was like she was possessed. Even her eyes looked dead..” 

“Don’t say the word dead,” Minako said, swatting at him as she checked to make sure the Princess was still breathing. She saw that she was and sighed in relief. “Thank god… it must have drained most of her energy to do that. I just don’t know how that could have happened…” 

“Legend has it that the silver crystal can act on its own accord if the balance of evil and good is significantly unbalanced,” Pluto offered. “Perhaps, that’s why I couldn’t see the future and a rebalancing was necessary.” 

“That’s exactly what happened dearest Setsuna,” came a gentle voice from behind them. All of them turned around to see the Queen standing weakly behind them. “It was a combination of Serenity’s wish to save everyone and the crystal that allowed for its deep power to be unleashed. I have never needed to unleash that type of power and the fact that Serenity was able to show how deeply she cares about everyone.” 

“Is she going to be ok?” Endymion asked as he held onto her. 

Queen Serenity nodded and couldn’t help but smile. “It warms my heart to think that she has you in her life,” she stated with a knowing smile. 

Endymion stuttered and before he could speak Kunzite was coming to his rescue. “I believe Endymion is just trying to show support for your daughter and his intentions are purely platonic,” he said with certainty. 

Minako cringed at the advisor-esque answer he gave while the Queen just laughed. “Kunzite,” she said looking at him squarely in the eyes. “You don’t think I know exactly what happens in my Kingdom and when my daughter sneaks off to another planet to play house with the boy she likes?” she asked with a raised eyebrow. 

Endymion was mortified at the comment and tried to blend into the background not saying a word. Kunzite on the other hand decided to play into the Queen’s trap, “Perhaps, she wasn’t leaving to see Endymion and she just wanted to experience Earth?” 

“Yeah, experience Earth… that’s one way to say what they were doing,” Zoisite blurted out. 

“ZOISITE,” Kunzite reprimanded him. “Your majesty that’s not it. He didn’t mean that… no, it was Minako she was visiting me,” he said in a panic. 

“Whatever you want to think I know or don’t know suits me Kunzite,” the Queen said with another knowing smile. “I’m just happy that I can trust you all with my daughter.” 

“Please don’t tell my Father,” Endymion finally blurted out; his cheeks a deep crimson. 

“Who do you think told me Endymion?” the Queen asked pointedly. Endymion was prepared to respond in a nonsensical manner when everyone that had been struck down by Zias started to shift awake. The bloody carnage that once lay around them was now being replaced by moans and groans as individuals woke up from Zias’ terror. Relief poured over the core saviours as they all looked at one another with relief pouring over their features. 

In the relief that was washing over everyone, Endymion decided to respond to Queen Serenity. “There are worse things than being caught in our little web of lies,” he noted earnestly. “If there’s one thing this situation has made me realize is that life is short. So yes, we have been sneaking off and yes, I’m in love with your daughter. There are far worse things than me loving your daughter,” he said with a sincere smile. “This has made me realize how much we have to lose and gain in being honest,” he said with another nod and looked towards Minako and Kunzite. “There’s something in that for everyone to learn,” he said focusing on Kunzite. 

“Well played Endymion,” Zoisite said with a smirk. “That was a true one-liner from a K-drama!” 

“ZOISITE,” everyone groaned as they rolled their eyes and sighed at his antics. 

And with that, they all fell into silence as they pondered Endymion’s words. The rush of the day’s events gone along with the comfort in knowing they prevented the Moon Kingdom from falling. While they could have become a Red Moon on this fateful day and evil could have won, good overcame and allowed for those with pure hearts, intentions, and passion to overcome evil.


	9. Epilogue: The Aftermath of Red

In the days after the event with Zias, things slowly returned to normal after some significant intervention from the Silver Crystal and the Lunar medics. The Senshi and Shitennou who had been attacked were not severely injured in the end. It turned out that when the Silver crystal showed its impressive power it sent out healing waves to everyone who had been in the Throne Room and allowed them to regain their energy. While they had needed a few days to recover fully and to regain their strength they had all woken up without serious trauma. 

Serenity on the other hand took longer to wake up. The toll of the crystal on her body left her in a deep sleep while her body tried to preserve her energy. When she finally woke up Endymion had been by her side to welcome her with open arms (and Queen Bee’s approval). He had gotten over the initial embarrassment and upon further discussions with the Queen he found out that both his Father and the Queen had known about their encounters for months. Ironically enough or maybe not so ironically, his Father had found out when Minako and Serenity had dropped into the baths for a little dip. Turns out the chaos, which they all thought had been fairly quiet, wasn’t. It was then that his Father had investigated the comings and goings of everyone on Earth and found out a certain Lunar Princess and her fateful guardian was entering their atmosphere more often than not. 

While Endymion and Serenity could have focused on being caught they decided to focus on being honest about their relationship and openly courting one another with their parents' approval which they apparently already had. Zoisite made sure to make fun of them whenever he could until he was almost banished from the Moon by Serenity himself. 

Another blossoming couple was Kunzite and Minako. While their relationship had always been tumultuous, in the days from the event they grew closer. Kunzite allowed himself to be open with Minako and admitted to having some feelings for her. As such, they were able to get to know one another and Minako finally got her way with Kunzite. After all, what Minako wanted, Minako got and Kunzite proved to be no different.

Lastly, as for Zias, after his antics, he was taken to the Lunar Dungeons where he would be tried as a traitor to the galaxy for trying to overtake the Lunar Kingdom, destroying countless planets populations, and for harvesting illegal acts of Poweseu. Without his powers, he was not a threat even though the Lunar Guard kept him under tight supervision. Dal and Jinsiu were also tried for their implications in the events and it was later found out they had been spies for years selling trade secrets and working in the illegal market. 

All three were kept in separate cells for fear of conspiring and Zias, in particular, was put into solitary confinement as his escape attempts were numerous. On one evening not too long after his trial, one of the Queen’s advisors went to visit him to question him more about the Jaci’s intentions and when the advisor approached his cell, they found the door to be wide open with a Lunar guard lying in a pool of blood and Zias nowhere to be found. All that was left behind was an eerie nursery rhyme with a promise to seek revenge: 

“Roses are Red,

Violets are Blue, 

You should all Dread, 

When I come back for YOU!” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to say a huge THANK YOU to the mods. This year has been so crazy with the pandemic and I'm so grateful to the time, effort and kindness that was displayed by the mods. They were lenient with deadlines and understood that everyone was going through a rough year. I truly thank you for all of your understanding!! Here's to 2021 being better!


End file.
